The Uniqueness of Christianity — God Incarnate

I know of no religious truth claim quite like the one found in the opening verses of John’s first epistle. According to the author (John)–who claims to be an eyewitness to the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ–God himself was manifest in human flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. The author knows this to be true because with his own ears he has heard God in the flesh teach and preach. With his own eyes, John has seen God in the flesh perform miracles, demonstrate his glory, and present himself alive after his resurrection from the dead. With his own hands, John has reached out and touched the very son of God. Even as John opens this epistle, he proclaims to us that we too may have fellowship with that same incarnate word whom John describes throughout this epistle as God manifest in the flesh. Therefore, Christianity is a religion of flesh and blood, anchored in the public record of history, and not in the secret recesses of the sinful human heart.

The Background to John’s Three Short Epistles

We begin a new series—an exposition of the epistles of John. These epistles include the letters known to us as 1st , 2nd , and 3rd John. In order to interpret these epistles correctly, it is vital that we know something about the historical background and circumstances which led to their composition. Therefore, I’d like to spend some time going through this material before we turn our attention to the first four verses of John’s first epistle, in which John announces his intention to proclaim to us that Jesus is the word of life, God manifest in the flesh.

The historical circumstances which led to the writing of John’s epistles is vastly different from that of the Book of James, which we covered previously. James was written about ten years after Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension to a group of persecuted Jewish Christians living throughout Palestine and Syria. John, on the other hand, is writing to a group of house churches in and around Ephesus (made up of Jews and Gentiles). Not only does John compose these epistles as much as a generation later than James, the churches to which he was writing were facing a number of false teachers who were denying that Jesus was God in the flesh. Sadly, many of those teaching such a thing were men who had departed from the faith they previously professed. John must deal with an entirely different set of circumstances than James. If James was the earliest letter in the New Testament, the epistles of John are surely among the last documents to be included in the canon of the New Testament.

The case is overwhelming that these three letters were written by the apostle John. Based upon the grammar and style of these three letters, there can be no doubt that they were written by the same person who composed the Gospel of John.[1] In fact, virtually every line in this epistle demonstrates some sort of similarity to, or dependance upon, the Gospel of John.[2] Although critical scholars go to unbelievable lengths to argue that these letters were not actually written by John (the apostle and associate of Jesus), they are not driven to this conclusion because of any evidence, but because of their rather ingenious but purely speculative theories about gospel origins.[3] The traditional view that the gospel and the three letters of John all came from the apostle John, still has far and away the most evidence in its favor.[4]

The early church was unanimous in its testimony that both the gospel and these three letters come from the hand of John, son of Zebedee and brother of James. Recall that John’s brother James (who is not the author of the Epistle of James–that epistle came from the other James, the brother of Jesus), also was a member of Jesus’s inner circle (along with his brother John, and the apostle Peter). A number of early Christian writings (written before the end of the first century) allude to John’s epistles. Polycarp–who was an elder in the church of Smyrna and who was martyred about 165 CE, claimed to have been a disciple of John. He mentions John’s teaching about antichrist in an epistle written about 140 CE. Papias–an elder in the first part of second century in what is now Turkey–also knew of John’s epistles. Other church fathers like Irenaeus, Clement, and Tertullian all knew of these epistles, and tie them directly to John the Apostle of whom they all believe to be the author of the fourth gospel.[5] In fact, there are no challenges to John’s authorship of these letters until much, much, later.

When and Why Did John Write These Epistles?

The more important questions for us are “when did John write these epistles?” and “did he write them before, or after, he wrote his gospel?” Here again, church tradition is helpful. Tradition holds that in the days immediately before Rome surrounded and destroyed the city of Jerusalem and its temple (in 70 CE), John along with Philip (the apostle) left Jerusalem and made their way to Ephesus (in Asia Minor), the city with which John was long associated, and where it is believed that he was buried.[6] According to Luke 21:20, Jesus warned the disciples that when they saw Jerusalem surrounded by armies they were to flee because the destruction of the city was near. Apparenyly, John heeded Jesus’s warning, fled Jerusalem, and lived out the rest of his life in Ephesus, dying of old age at some point during the reign of the Roman emperor Trajan (who reigned from 98-117 CE). If John were a young man during the time he was with Jesus, he died as an elderly man (tradition says in his nineties) at some point after his exile to the Island of Patmos, where he has given the vision we know as the Book of Revelation (written as late as 95 CE, but perhaps earlier).

Although some scholars tie the date of John’s Gospel to the time of upheaval in Jerusalem (before 70 CE), when there was the need to record the teaching of Jesus to proclaim in the churches, especially after the death of Paul (in Rome about 66 CE),[7] I think the evidence points toward a later period, after John had relocated to Ephesus. Given the similarities between the gospel and the epistles, we know that they came from the same hand and were likely written within a few years of each other. So, either John’s gospel is an expansion of the themes set out earlier in his three epistles, or else the epistles are written to elaborate on themes in the gospel and to correct false teachers who were distorting John’s gospel.

The latter seems to me to be the case, especially given John’s comments in 1 John 2:19–21, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.” John assumes the reader of this epistle already knows the truth, an indication that John wrote his gospel first (whether that be in Jerusalem or in Ephesus), and that the epistles were written a bit later, to more fully explain certain things in his gospel that were being distorted by false teachers, people whom John describes as having departed from the faith, and who were doing the work of antichrist.

John’s First Epistle—A Pastoral Letter?

This brings us to a discussion as to why John wrote these epistles. If these letters were written after the gospel, then John is writing to do two things. One purpose in writing is clearly pastoral. Like the epistles of James and Jude, this letter lacks the formal introduction and closing personal greetings we see in the letters of Paul. One explanation as to why John’s epistle comes in the form of a letter–the content and structure of these epistles seems disjointed at first–is that like James’s, John’s first epistle is actually a short sermon, intended to be read in the churches. In fact, as we’ll see, a number of scholars believe that both 2nd and 3rd John were cover letters, sent along with this epistle to different destinations.

That this letter is actually a sermon is supported in 1 John 5:13 when John spells out his basic purpose in writing. “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” This virtually echoes the familiar purpose statement of John’s gospel, found in John 20:31: “These [things] are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” To those who haven’t read his gospel, this epistle will give them a helpful summary. To those who have read his gospel previously but have questions about its content, hopefully, this letter will clarify and correct any misunderstandings or questions they may have about what it means to have eternal life. And so in a sense then, John preaches to his reader. He presents the truth in a very direct and positive way, knowing that truth drives out error.[8]

False Teachers Have Arisen

But John also has another important purpose in writing. We can deduce from the contents of this letter, that there were false teachers in and around Ephesus who were actively attempting to deceive God’s people. As I mentioned, John indicates that some of these false teachers “went out from us,” meaning that at one time, apparently, they were professing Christians. Now they are apostates, teaching a dangerous false doctrine. The specific error they were teaching is addressed by John in 2:22–“who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.” Some had believed that Jesus was the son of God, the word made flesh, but had abandoned that belief. John speaks of those who now reject Jesus as God manifest in the flesh as having been seduced by the spirit of antichrist (1 John 4:3). As we will see, what John says about antichrist and what the contemporary prophecy pundits say about antichrist are two very different things!

What led people to embrace this heresy? We do know that Asia Minor (modern Turkey, where Ephesus was located) was home to an early form of Gnosticism. Gnosticism did not become a full-blown religious system for another half-century–but the seeds of this heresy had already been sown in Hellenistic [Greek] soil. Therefore, it is important to understand a few things about Gnosticism so as to understand what John is combating. Gnostic thinkers set up a dualism between pure spirit (the good) and matter (which is evil). The word “gnostic” comes from the Greek word “to know” and refers to the secret knowledge that enlightened followers gain, usually through some sort of religious experience taught them by an “enlightened teacher.” Only “insiders” are in the know. Gnostic teachers often claimed to possess secret teachings of Jesus, which is why all the apocryphal gospels appear after this time (i.e., the “lost books”–like the Gospel of Thomas, etc.) which are attributed to apostles, but are obvious forgeries and filled with Gnostic and heretical ideas about Jesus.

The Proto-Gnostic Problem—God Present in the Flesh

But the primary issue with which John must deal is the gnostic dualism which holds that matter is evil because it is matter. If matter is evil, how can Jesus Christ be God manifest in the flesh? How could God (who is pure spirit) ever take to himself a true human nature (i.e. “flesh”)? The false teachers whom John opposes are troubled by the very idea of Christ’s incarnation–God manifest in the flesh is an impossibility for them. This explains why John emphasizes the point that God was made manifest so emphatically. If flesh is evil because it is material, then how can Jesus take to himself a true human nature? Pure spirit could never exist in an incarnate form. But if Jesus is God manifest in the flesh, the supposed dualism between matter and spirit is completely overturned. This is why John anchors the very truth and essence of Christianity in the fact of the incarnation. Christianity is true because in Jesus, God was made manifest in the flesh. To deny the incarnation is to embrace the spirit of antichrist.

The Gnostic counterclaim to Christ’s incarnation was to argue that while Jesus was fully God, he only appeared (or manifested himself) in human form. In other words, Jesus was fully God, but he only took the form, or the appearance of a man. This is the ancient heresy called docetism (from the Greek word to “seem” or “appear”). When John speaks of people denying that Jesus is the Christ, it is to this heresy that he is referring. And John speaks of those who teach such a thing as “antichrists”–hardly a complementary term. This is why the docetic heresy is such a threat to Christianity and why John opposes it so militantly. There is a famous story recounted by the church father Polycarp, of how the apostle John had been in the public bath house in Ephesus and encountered a man named Cerinthus, who was a noted gnostic teacher. John supposedly exclaimed, “Let us save ourselves: the bath house may fall down, for inside is Cerinthus, the enemy of truth.”[9] John could not countenance being in the same building with the man.

The serious threat posed by this early form of Gnosticism, the possible presence of an arch-heretic like Cerinthus in the area around Ephesus, along the rise of the docetic heresy (Jesus was God, but only appeared in human form) explains why John opens his epistle by making the truth claim that Jesus was God manifest in the flesh. Despite the docetic heresy and the claims made by heretics like Cerinthus, John knows otherwise. John has seen, heard, and touched the very word made flesh.

The Word Assumes a Human Nature and Can Be Heard, Seen, and Touched

With the preceding in mind, we turn to the first four verses of 1 John.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

The first thing to keep in mind is to notice their strong similarity to the prologue of John’s gospel (verses 1-14). In the epistles, as in the gospel, John speaks of the “word of life.” In his epistle, John not only opens by focusing upon Jesus as the word of life and God manifest in the flesh, but he closes with this same theme as well. In 1 John 5:20, John concludes this epistle with these words. “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” So, from the opening words to the closing, John is concerned to remind his reader of what they already know (not what they need to learn from some “enlightened teacher)–that in the person of Jesus Christ, who is true God and true man–God came to earth, to save us from our sins. This is all the more remarkable when we consider a passage such as Jeremiah 23:24, in which we read God declaring of himself, “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” Yes, he does. And now in the word of life, that same God was made manifest in the flesh. In the incarnation of Jesus, the transcendent God becomes immanent and even dwells among us (John 1:14).

While John will have a great deal to say about the Christian life–especially the need for God’s people to love one another, he begins by reaffirming the humanity of Jesus. If we do not understand who Jesus is, then we cannot understand what he came to do. And if we don’t understand both his person and work, then we will quickly fall prey to that notion which characterizes all false religion, our works earn favor with God. No, what we do as Christians flows out from our faith in Christ–who is the one who gives us eternal life as a free gift. We do not find salvation through some sort of quest to discover the hidden mysteries which Jesus came to reveal to a few “enlightened ones.” John’s whole point is that salvation comes to us publicly in the word who was made manifest–hence John’s emphasis upon seeing, hearing, and touching the one who gives life in verse 1–“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life.” A phantom, docetic Jesus cannot be touched. Recall the wonderful statement uttered by Jesus as recorded in Luke’s gospel. “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39).

In Jesus Is Life Eternal

Verse 2 is an elaboration upon John’s prior comment. “The life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us.” The life (which is a reference to the eternal life that Jesus gives) was made manifest (was revealed) in his earthly ministry. John’s connection of this life to the word ties this to Christ’s person as well as to Christian preaching of that word, i.e., the gospel.[10] John has made this point earlier in his gospel–when he recounts Jesus speaking of himself in these terms “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). In chapter 3 of this epistle, John ties this directly to Jesus’s messianic mission. In verses 5 and 8 of 1 John 3 we read, “You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. . . . Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” Jesus “appeared” not as a ghost, or as an apparition, but was revealed (or was made manifest) in the flesh.

Jesus did not come to reveal a form of esoteric knowledge to a few enlightened followers (as is typical of Gnosticism). Rather, Jesus was publicly revealed (“was made manifest”) to do what was necessary (die upon the cross, live a perfect life, and cause us to be raised to newness of life in regeneration when we are “born again”) so that we who were dead in sin, might have “life” (i.e. eternal life). The public and physical nature of Christ’s redemptive work explains John’s emphasis upon having seen this with his own eyes. Notice too that throughout this section John speaks in the first person plural–“we.” He does this to emphasize the fact that he (and the disciples, and countless others) were eyewitnesses to Jesus’s earthly ministry. Jesus didn’t just “appear” in human form. He took to himself a true human nature. Jesus walked, talked, laughed, ate, went to the bathroom, became tired, slept, and even suffered. Jesus was no mere docetic phantom! He was God in human flesh! The one who brings eternal life, comes to us in human history.[11] John saw him, heard him, and even touched him.

Good News, Indeed!

But not only did John see this life revealed in Christ with his own eyes, he has already proclaimed this message of eternal life (in his gospel) and will do so again in this epistle. The whole point of Christ revealing himself in this way is so that his disciples might proclaim this message (the word of life) to the ends of the earth. If in Jesus God’s people have eternal life, then God’s people must bear witness to this same Jesus, by proclaiming both his person (true God and true man) and his work (he came to bring eternal life, having made a propitiation for our sins–cf. 1 John 2:2; 4:10). God was manifest in the flesh so that his people might proclaim this word of life to the nations. This is why the gospel is called “good news.” Good news is something to be proclaimed. And according to John, proclaiming the good news is the way people receive eternal life!

This becomes clear in verse 3, when John points out “that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.” John has seen him, heard him, touched him, and proclaimed him. The reason? So that sinners may receive eternal life, believe in him, and then enjoy fellowship with both Father and his Son Jesus, as well as with all those who have embraced this word of life by faith. That word (which always was, and was with the Father for all eternity) has now been proclaimed. And those who have found in Jesus the way (to God), the truth (Jesus accomplished all of these things in history) and the life (indeed, Jesus himself creates eternal life though the proclamation of the gospel), now enjoy “fellowship” (koinonia) with all those who have been given life. As John will put it in verse 20 of chapter 5, “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” All those who have life are “in him” and enjoy a bond of love and charity they could never know apart from Christ. John wants nothing more than for his readers to share in this fellowship.

And so John can say in verse 4, “And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.” This is John’s hope as he writes. This is the blessing God has promised to his people. That God was manifest in the flesh is the basis of both our fellowship with God as well as with each other. As some have pointed out, John’s words have an eschatological focus as well. One day that fellowship which we presently enjoy “in him” will be complete when we are in the presence of the Father and his Son Jesus. That is the ultimate and consummate blessing of eternal life. And while we know joy in this life because of Christ, when all is brought to completion, then our joy will be complete. What a glorious and remarkable promise! We will enjoy the most intimate and perfect fellowship with each other because of our mutual fellowship with the Father and the Son in their very presence. But this is the very thing the false teachers deny. This is why John bears direct witness to the word of life, God manifest in the flesh.

What Do We Say By Way of Application?

From John’s comments both here and in his gospel, it is clear that eternal life is tied to the fact that the very eternal word was made flesh and was made manifest in human history. Jesus doesn’t save us by revealing to us “secret knowledge” so that we can discover the hidden path to enlightenment. Jesus did not merely “appear” in human form so as to impress us with his miraculous powers. As B. B. Warfield once pointed out, Christianity is unique among the world’s religions because its major doctrines (like the incarnation) are also historical facts (that which John heard, saw, and touched). If John heard, saw and touched these things, then Christianity is true. If he didn’t, then Christianity is false. It is that simple. Either God was made manifest in the flesh, or he wasn’t. If he was, then Jesus alone is the word of life.

And the reason why the word of life was made manifest in the flesh is so that we might have eternal life. A docetic phantom cannot shed blood and offer up himself as a propitiation for our sins. A docetic Jesus cannot be born under the law to fulfill all righteousness by his perfect and faultless obedience to the law of God. No, this requires God to come in the flesh. In order for Jesus to be the word of life, he must take to himself a true human nature in the womb of the virgin. He must do for us what he could not do for ourselves. And this is the message of John. And how do we know his message is true? Certainly not because someone has revealed to us the secrets about Jesus. No, we know this to be true because John saw him. John heard him. John touched him. And John says “that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life.” And that word of life is Jesus.

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[1] Stephen S. Smalley, 1,2,3 John, Word Biblical Commentary, 1984), xxii.

[2] Raymond E. Brown, The Epistles of John, The Anchor Bible (Garden City: Doubleday, 1982), 757-759.

[3] See, for example; Brown, The Epistles of John, 69-115.

[4] See, for example Donald Guthrie, New Testament Introduction (Downers Grove, InterVarsity Press, 1990), 858-864; Carson, Moo, Morris, An Introduction to the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992), 446-450.

[5] See the discussion in Brown, The Epistles of John, 6-9.

[6] Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, XXXI.

[7] See Daniel Wallace’s discussion of this @ Bible.org.

[8] Guthrie, New Testament Introduction, 866-868.

[9] Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3.3.4. See the discussion of the possibility of Cerinthus being John’s primary opponent in this epistle; Brown, The Epistles of John, 766-771.

[10] Smalley, 1, 2, 3, John, 6

[11] John Stott, The Epistles of John, Tyndale New Testament Commentary (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1964), 61-63.

If you’ve tried to reach me via the “contact me” form in the last month or so, apparently your question or comment is floating somewhere in cyberspace. The form has always been a bit wonky, but I’ve fixed the issue (with an old school solution).

Article 11: Doubts Concerning This Assurance

Meanwhile, Scripture testifies that believers have to contend in this life with various doubts of the flesh and that under severe temptation they do not always experience this full assurance of faith and certainty of perseverance. But God, the Father of all comfort, “does not let them be tempted beyond what they can bear, but with the temptation he also provides a way out” (1 Cor. 10:13), and by the Holy Spirit revives in them the assurance of their perseverance.

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In this article, the Canons address the reality of doubt in the Christian life. In making this assertion, the authors are likely drawing upon several comments about doubt made by John Calvin, which are widely known and quoted throughout the Reformed tradition. In his influential Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin noted that “believers are never so established as not to be subject to some doubt.” (Institutes 3.2.17). And in his commentary on Mark’s gospel (Mark 9:24), when encountering a man with a demon-possessed child, Jesus told the man to believe the power and promises of God to deliver his child, and the man cried out to Jesus, “I believe, help my unbelief,” Calvin notes that “for since no perfect faith exists anywhere, it follows that we are in part unbelievers; nevertheless, God in his indulgence forgives us, and from even a small measure of faith counts us as believers” (Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, on Mark 9:24).

The article focuses upon the severe temptations believers often experience, but does not explain or address the specific reasons why true believers find themselves doubting whether or not the promises God makes to save sinners apply to them personally. The Canons state the reality of times of doubt without giving many specifics.

Indwelling sin is a fact of the Christian life—the temptation to sin is both an inward pull and an external foe. So too is the carelessness of many who neglect the means of grace (the preaching of the Word and the sacraments). In effect, such people cut themselves off from the primary way in which our assurance is strengthened: hearing the promises of God, being convicted of sin, confessing those sins, and then being assured by the pastor (or in the church’s liturgy) of the reality promised to us in 1 John 1:7–2:2.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Then, there are some who must deal with all sorts of difficult circumstances (the so-called “hard providences”): the death of loved ones, or chronic illnesses of both mind and body which sap our strength and confidence in God, severe loss and times of great hardship, all of which make life difficult for Christians, and cause us to question God’s favor to us in Christ.

All of these things can work in our lives to undermine the comfort of God’s favor and the assurance of our salvation. Article eleven reminds us, “Scripture testifies that believers have to contend in this life with various doubts of the flesh and that under severe temptation they do not always experience this full assurance of faith and certainty of perseverance.” This implies a distinction between doubt, which is the questioning of the assurance God has promised us, and unbelief, which is a self-conscious rejection of the promises of God associated with apostasy, the embrace of false doctrine, and the desire to leave behind the persecution or ridicule Christians often face from non-Christians.

But the article goes on to remind us of God's grace—that “the Father of all comfort, `does not let his own be tempted beyond what they can bear, but with the temptation he also provides a way out’ (1 Cor. 10:13), and by the Holy Spirit revives in them the assurance of their perseverance.” The Spirit does this through participation in the means of grace, through heartfelt prayer and confession of our doubts (as in the case of the man who cried out to Jesus, “I believe, help my unbelief,”) and through fellowship with other Christian believers who come to our aid and who both support and pray for us during such times.

Episode Synopsis:

In the opening words of the Book of Romans, Paul introduces himself to a church he has never visited and to a group of fellow believers, most of whom he has never met in person. Therefore, it is important for Paul to explain his apostolic office as well his role in undertaking the Gentile mission. Paul is making travel plans which include a future visit to the city of Rome. Since the church in Rome was predominantly Gentile (with a Jewish Minority), it is important that both groups understand that all of Paul’s missionary efforts are grounded in the preaching of the Gospel of God–the death and resurrection of Jesus on behalf of sinners.

To the Jewish Christians in Rome, Paul must explain that the gospel he preaches was revealed to him by Jesus Christ who was himself a descendant of David (Israel’s greatest king), while at the same time the eternal Son of God who ushers in a new age in redemptive history. This gospel is not a message invented by Paul–a charge he’s heard previously from opponents in Galatia and Corinth. The gospel which he is about to proclaim in the balance of the letter to follow, is the same message proclaimed throughout the Old Testament–though hidden in types and shadows, and a mystery which Paul is about to explain. Furthermore, the gospel is true because its central figure (Jesus) has not only the proper Davidic genealogy, but he was raised bodily from the dead in power in accordance with the work of the Holy Spirit. By virtue of his resurrection, Jesus is the Lord–an important bit of information to those living in Rome during the days of Caesar Nero, who thinks of himself as a sort of demi-God. Nero is not Lord, Jesus is.

Since Rome is such an important place–the capital of a huge pagan empire–Paul will make the point that this gospel “promised before hand,” is a gospel for all the nations, as foretold by Israel’s prophets. This gospel summons all those called to belong to Jesus to the obedience of faith. Is faith an act of obedience in our part. Is it a work? Is it the one thing which we must do to be saved? Is there any merit in faith–something God sees and rewards. And what is so-called, “evangelical obedience?”

Show Notes:

I divided this episode into two parts (this episode and the following on Romans 1:6-15) to prevent having one long episode, followed by another very short episode.

A very routine recording session—pilots, beasts, and neighbors did not interfere.

Recommended Links:

Select Resources for the Study of Romans

Ian Hamilton on “The Obedience of Faith”

D, Martyn Llyod-Jones, Promised by His Prophets (mp3)

Richard Gaffin on Christ’s resurrection

Music:

(Shutterstock): Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op 92m, second movement, Allegretto (A minor)

In the 1914 Princeton Theological Review, (105–123), B. B. Warfield published an in-depth review of four books written by Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941). Underhill, who was the author over 30 books, considered herself a “Christian mystic,” and wrote numerous books on the inner life, spirituality, worship, and several on mysticism. She is venerated on the liturgical calendar by several Anglican national churches, and her works are still read in a number of mainline Protestant, Roman Catholic, and even in some evangelical circles where religious experience is paramount and pursued.

If you know anything about B. B. Warfield, you know where this “review” is going. Warfield was, let’s just say, not a fan of Mrs. Underhill. As a scholar and a Kentucky-bred gentleman, Warfield was usually respectful, if tough on those who rejected the supernatural, historical, and miraculous elements of Christianity (i.e., miracles, the virgin birth, the veracity of the New Testament, etc.). When he reviewed several of her recent books in one lengthy review essay (which has been reprinted in The Works of Benjamin B. Warfield: Critical Reviews, vol. 10 (334-356), it is immediately clear that his patience with her work and influence has come to an end—the reason for his terse “review” of her efforts.

The four volumes from Underhill under review include:

Mysticism. A Study in the Nature and Development of Man’s Spiritual Consciousness (1911).

The Mystic Way. A Psychological Study in Christian Origins (1913).

Immanence. A Book of Verses (1912).

The Miracles of Our Lady Saint Mary: brought out of divers tongues and newly set forth in English (1906).

Warfield begins by recounting how Underhill’s previous and well-known novels reveal a number of her operating assumptions. The novels, “already reveal to us the intensity of her engagement with what is loosely called the mystical aspects of life, and no doubt embody, in an imaginative form, much of what she would consider symbolically at least wholesome instruction for our sense-preoccupied world" (334). In her novels . . .

Miss Underhill seeks her inspiration in preternatural [extraordinary] themes, and manifests a profound preoccupation with the supernatural, not to say the morbid, phases of life. From these novels alone we might assure ourselves that here is a writer who is ready to insist seriously that there are more things, not in heaven merely but here on earth, than are dreamed of in our starveling five-senses philosophy: and indeed that the most real things which surround us are not those which we touch with our clumsy fingers and gaze at with our dull eyes and taste with our gross tongues. It is not a matter of surprise that such a writer should come forward at length as a serious eulogist of Mysticism.

Warfield (good Scottish Common Sense Realist that he was) was not going to be impressed by anyone who sought religious knowledge in subjective and mystical experience rather than in touching grass (as the saying goes)—which means understanding Christianity not as an experience of something beyond our senses, but as a revelation from God in real history and which comes to us in a book of words and sentences (“God did,” and “God said” in and through the very historical person of Jesus of Nazareth). We Reformed folk speak often of “redemptive history” for a reason. We do not think of Christianity as something grounded in mystical experience of whatever we think the “divine” might be.

Warfield first takes up Underhill’s “giving new life” to Mary-Legends as expressed in her book, The Miracles of Our Lady Saint Mary. Warfield asks,

Speaking of the medieval attitude towards the Virgin she remarks upon the “simple and familiar friendship, mystical adoration, and unfailing trust” which were given to “Goddes Moder and oures” by those who, as she phrases it, “were in every sense her children.” And then she adds that it is “the aim of this book” “to drag back,” not only the “literary expression” of this sentiment “from the shadow-land to which it has retreated,” but the “sentiment” itself. May we infer that Miss Underhill has had, then, a directly religious motive in seeking to revive the knowledge of the Mary-legends?

And what might that motive be? Warfield notes how her work echoes that of a number of late 18th and early 19th century writers (now unfamiliar to us), but who sought an end-run around a view of Christianity anchored in history and which contained very specific doctrines, all tied to the person and work of Jesus Christ. Underhill’s work mirrors theirs.

It is not altogether easy to make quite sure of Miss Underhill’s precise religious standpoint. On the basis of her two solid works on Mysticism alone—which embrace her professed contribution to religious discussion—we might readily think of her as a Modernist Romanist. We do not suppose we do her injustice at any rate in imagining her in congenial society when in the company of, say, Friedrich von Hügel [an Austrian Roman Catholic apologist] or George Tyrrell [a convert from Anglicanism who became an Anglo-Irish Catholic priest and theologian]. Many of their points of view she certainly holds in common with them; some of their suggestions she works out in detail; and, if we mistake not, the ultimate issue of her religious thought is very much theirs—perhaps, we may add, in somewhat extreme expression. The whole argument of the work which is more especially in our mind as we write—“The Mystic Way”—might be represented as the detailed explication of a tendency apparent in von Hügel (it is no doubt present in more or less strength in all Mystical writers), to which Söderblom [a Swedish social-gospeler] calls sharp attention—the tendency, we mean, to think of Jesus as only a high-point in the religious development of humanity, which attracts the eye of men and to which we must also aspire, while there is withheld from Him all truly creative effects on the religious life of the world.

So, according to Underhill and those whom she exemplifies, what matters most is how Jesus serves as an example of the best in humanity, a man who lived an envious religious life, and a life which we ought seek to imitate. Where does this leave us? Warfield lowers the boom:

But [Tyrrell] seems to have meant it seriously when in the early days of the last year of his life he declared: “ . . . the Christianity of the future will consist of mysticism and charity, and possibly the Eucharist in its primitive form as the outward bond: I desire no better.” Perhaps even Mysticism no doubt seemed to him something less than solid ground: “Mystics think they touch the divine,” he explains in one of his moods of skepticism, “when they have only blurred the human form with a cloud of words” (336-337).

The precise effect of Miss Underhill’s discussion of “The Mystic Way,” in any event, is to place her in the same category with Houtin and Loisy and Tyrrell as here expounded. She reduces Christianity to simple Mysticism (337).

Mystical experience bridges all denominational distinctives and doctrinal differences. No serious appeal is made to biblical data, exposition of biblical passages, preaching of those texts, and the sacraments (i.e., bread, wine, water, and ink and paper—material things necessary to Christianity). In their place, there is only an appeal to aspire to be like Jesus, who in his own creative way, showed us the path to “touch the divine” through mystical experience.

The framing of Underhill’s mysticism and her compatriots by Warfield is now a century old. But the practice of subjective religion and the seeking of encounters with “touching the divine” live on with new trendy titles, celebrity practitioners, and mood-bending church architecture and staging, all designed so that attendees might have a vague, undefined, worship experience.

Then, as now, mystical religious experience unites people from diverse backgrounds and churches and provides common ground for those seeking theological justification for religious “diversity and inclusion.”

End of Part One — To be continued . . .

Note: This was originally posted on the Riddleblog in December of 2020 and has become surprising relevant again

Hitler as an Antichrist Figure

How did the ordinary-looking child (pictured above) become an antichrist figure, the maniacal leader of a "Christian" nation such as Germany—as pictured in the second image?

Uncovering the answer to this question has kept many capable historians busy since the Second World War. But evangelical theologians and Bible prophecy experts, who may have genuine insight into providing an answer, have largely remained silent.

One reason for this silence regarding Adolf Hitler as an antichrist figure is that many who write in the field of eschatology these days tend to push the discussion of the two beasts in Revelation 13 back into the distant past. In Revelation 13, John sees one beast rising out of the sea (Rev. 13:1-10), and another beast rising out of the earth (Rev. 13:11-18). This understanding of Revelation 13 is obvious because of the historical connection between these two "beasts" and imperial Rome and its self-deified Caesars. This is characteristic of the preterist reading of Revelation, which contends that the Apocalypse was written before 70 CE and speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem, it's temple, along God's judgment upon Israel in the form of the Diaspora.

Others interested in biblical prophecy (futurists) tend to see the events of Revelation 13 as something yet to come during a future tribulation period. Many futurists see John's description as a prophetic warning of a revived Roman empire, unleashing its full fury in the final days upon those who remain "left behind" after the rapture, now forced to face the Antichrist during the seven-year tribulation period.

On both of these views, there is no reason to look for "antichrists" manifesting themselves during the inter-advental period--i.e., in the present course of history. Either the beast has come and gone (the preterist view), or is yet to come (the futurist view). Although some futurists identified Hitler as the beast and Mussolini as the false prophet in the years before the Second World War, now that these two famed fascists have met their respective fates, there is little reason to tie them to antichrist imagery.

As I have argued in my book The Man of Sin, the preterist identification of the two beasts of Revelation 13 with Rome is largely correct, but significantly errs by not seeing the first-century Roman empire's persecution of Christians as an example of the kind of persecution which Christians should expect throughout the entire inter-advental period. In other words, what John describes in Revelation 13, is a reality for the seven churches to which the Book of Revelation (Rev. 2-3) is addressed. But it is also indicative of the kind of persecution Christians will face at various times and places throughout the entire inter-advental period. To put it yet another way, the two beasts are historically tied to Rome, but these beasts also epitomize subsequent manifestations of Satanic opposition to Christ's church and his people, until the Lord returns.

Whenever I lecture on the doctrine of antichrist, I appeal to Nazi Germany as but one relatively recent, and rather obvious illustration of what I mean when I speak of the two antichrist threats that Christians must face before Christ returns. One is internal (heresy) and one external (persecution). My view is that these two on-going threats coalesce at the time of the end with a person who we call "the" Antichrist, who is destroyed by Christ at his second coming (cf. 2 Thess. 2:8; Rev. 20:10).

In his first two epistles, John speaks of antichrist in a very narrow sense as an internal threat to the churches (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 1:7). John's "antichrists" are a present reality for the churches of the first century, there are already many of them present, and they take the form of teachers of a pernicious heresy which denies that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh (docetism).

The beast motif in Revelation 13 represents the other threat to the church (external). This, in my estimation, applies to nations and their leaders, of which Adolf Hitler and the Germany of 1933-1945 are prime examples. On this view, the continually resurrected Roman beast refers to those nations and/or their leaders who claim divine privileges and prerogatives unto themselves, and who, therefore, hate the people of God because of their confession that "Jesus is Lord.” This confession means that the beast is not.

Nothing offends an antichrist figure like an Adolf Hitler more than a Christian who refuses to give the Nazi salute or devote themselves to the Nazi cause. Whenever a Christian confesses that "Jesus is Lord," they are simultaneously confessing that "Der Führer" is himself Jesus's subject, and will, one day find himself standing before Jesus on the day of judgment and forced to bow before him against his will, upon entering eternal judgment.

Historians have accidentally come quite close to acknowledging this biblical perspective when they seek to understand how someone like Hitler--a nobody with little or no chance of succeeding at anything in life--came to power in Germany through the most unlikely, yet remarkable of circumstances.

Ian Kershaw, who has written what many consider to be the definitive biography of Hitler (Hubris, and Nemesis), writes,

a history of Hitler therefore has to be the history of his power--how he came to get it, what his character was, how he exercised it, why he was allowed to expand it to break all international barriers, why resistance to that power was so feeble. (Hubris, xxvii)

Kershaw goes on to say of the man he identifies as an “un-person” . . .

Hitler was no tyrant imposed upon Germany. Though he never attained majority support in free elections, he was legally appointed to power as Reich Chancellor just like his predecessors had been, and became between 1933 and 1940 arguably the most popular head of state in the world. . . . Hitler's impact can only be grasped through the era which produced him (and was destroyed by him). (Hubris, xxix)

Yet, as Kershaw concludes,

No attempt to produce a comprehensive understanding of the phenomena of Nazism without doing justice to the "Hitler factor" can hope to succeed. But such an interpretation must not only take into full account of Hitler's ideological goals, his actions, and his personal input into the shaping of events; it must at the same time locate these within the social forces and political structures which permitted, shaped, and promoted the growth of a system that came increasingly to hinge on personalized, absolute power -- with the disastrous effects that flowed from it. (Hubris, xxix-xxx)

Kershaw's comprehensive two-volume biography (and abridged one volume edition) does this as well as any historian can (Hubris; Nemesis, Hitler). But I would humbly suggest that there is a theological explanation worth consideration as well.

Hitler as Beast -- The Persecutor of God's People

When I contend that Hitler is but one manifestation of the kind of thing John is warning Christians about in Revelation 13, I too am looking at the amazing rise of Hitler in context (as Kershaw does), yet from a different perspective; the vantage point of the New Testament and its doctrine of antichrist. John warns the people of God that the Dragon (Satan) ultimately lies behind the various iterations of the beast, including that of Hitler and his Third Reich.

From the photo above (taken in 1941), Hitler and his cronies thought nothing of celebrating a Nazi "Christmas" since their cause was confirmed by a virtually unbroken streak of military victories and conquests of European nations. Hitler's armies would soon meet defeat on the Russian steppes, and America's industrial and military might had not yet begun to influence the war. Ironically, it was Hitler who declared war on America on December 11, 1941, shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and around the time this photo of the Nazi Christmas celebration was taken. But my primary concern in this brief essay is not with geopolitics, but with Hitler's (and his regime's) open contempt for professing Christians who refused to be silent about the gospel in the face of Nazi persecution. This is one of the key traits of a biblical "antichrist."

A concrete illustration of what I mean is helpful here. In a wonderful essay in First Things ("Giving Thanks in Hitler's Reich"), Timothy George describes the martyrdom of “Paul Robert Schneider (1897-1939) [who] was the first Protestant pastor to die in a concentration camp at the hands of the Nazis. His story is one of unmitigated courage, self-sacrifice, and martyrdom." Not a well-known theologian, "Paul Schneider, rather, was an obscure village pastor who could have escaped persecution completely had he simply been willing to keep his mouth shut."

As Dr. George tells the story, Schneider was the new pastor at a small church in Hochelheim:

Schneider had been there hardly a month when he was asked to preside at the funeral of a seventeen-year-old member of the Hitler Youth named Karl Moog. Before the benediction had been pronounced, the local Nazi district leader, Heinrich Nadig, interrupted the service to declare that young Karl had now crossed over into the heavenly storm troop of Horst Wessel, to which Schneider replied: “I do not know if there is a storm of Horst Wessel in eternity, but may the Lord God bless your departure from time and your entry into eternity.”

Those who died in the service of the Nazis, like young Karl Moog, were summoned to join the Wessel storm troop above. Just six months prior to the funeral incident, the Nazi bimonthly Der Brunnen declared: “How high Horst Wessel towers over that Jesus of Nazareth—that Jesus who pleaded that the bitter cup be taken from him. How unattainably high all Horst Wessels stand above Jesus!”

Pastor Schneider refused to subordinate the Christian Gospel to such a pagan myth. When Nadig repeated his graveside claim about Horst Wessel, Schneider said: “I protest. This is a church ceremony, and as a Protestant pastor, I am responsible for the pure teaching of the Holy Scriptures.”

For his actions, Pastor Schenieder was arrested and served a five day sentence. In a letter to Heinrich Nadig, Pr. Schneider explained that,

In a Protestant church ceremony, God’s voice has to be clearly heard from the Holy Scriptures. Our church people are liberalized enough, so it is no longer appropriate to allow just any opinion to be expressed in the church. There can no longer be any place for this because, especially at a church funeral, the seriousness of eternity does not tolerate being measured by human standards. Therefore, not everyone who does his duty in the Hitler Youth or the SA fairly well can be beatified. I will certainly accept the earthly storm of Horst Wessel, but that does not mean by a long shot that God will allow him to march straight into eternal salvation. That is perhaps “German faith,” but it is not biblically based Christian faith that takes seriously the full reality of sin that is so deeply rooted in the heart and life of man.

As a consequence, Schneider came under the gaze of the Gestapo. After four years of subsequent arrests and open persecution, Schneider still refused to back down. He was removed from his church, but kept preaching where and when he could. On Sunday, October 3, 1937, the Harvest Thanksgiving, Schneider preached a sermon on Psalm 145:15–21. It was his last.

According to Timothy George:

He began the sermon by acknowledging how incongruous it might seem to be giving thanks “in this year of our church’s hardship.” Yet this is precisely what the psalmist calls us to do—to give thanks for the material blessings of harvest and home and also for the generous gifts of God in Word, sacrament, and worship. Yet God’s Word does not come cheap, Schneider said. “Confessing Jesus will carry a price. For his sake we will come into much distress and danger, much shame and persecution. Happy the man who does not turn aside from these consequences.”

The consequences were just what we would expect of the bestial Germany of Hitler and the National Socialists. Schneider was arrested, sent to Buchenwald, and given the number 2491.

George tells the glorious end of this heroic martyr under the demonic Hitlerian regime:

On July 18, 1939, he was killed by the camp doctor who administered a lethal injection of strophanthin. Gretel drove to Buchenwald and retrieved the body of Paul Schneider and returned it to Dickenschied for burial. Hundreds of people swarmed the village for Schneider’s funeral. Many pastors, including the priest of the local Catholic Church, joined the procession to the cemetery. One of the Gestapo officers sent to observe the proceedings remarked to one of the pastors, “This is the way kings are buried!” to which the pastor replied: “Hardly! What is happening here is that a blood witness of Jesus Christ is borne to the grave.”

Conclusion: Hitler as Antichrist Figure

Adolf Hitler did not personally put Rev. Paul Schneider to death. Hitler probably never knew his name, or remotely cared that he was one of countless people—including a number of faithful Protestant pastors—who were put to death at the hands of the Nazis. The pastor's crime? Preaching Christ and him crucified, and then challenging those religious myths which developed in "Christian" Germany, and which gave credence to the Nazi cause as only civil religion can.

As Kershaw points out above, the story of Hitler's rise to power is complex and clearly tied to both the age and the nation which produced him. But the historical question Kershaw raises still seeks an answer: what is the source of Hitler's power? As a Christian, I can attempt an answer to that most compelling but unanswered question. If my reading of John and Revelation 13 is correct, then in the providence of God, the Dragon (Satan) was allowed to empower the beast (this time in the form of National Socialism) to wage war upon the saints, and for a time, appear to triumph over them (Rev. 13:7).

Yet when Rev. Schneider breathed his last, he immediately joined the vast multitude of those who have entered the heavenly presence of the Lord of his church (Rev. 20:4). Rev. Schneider, and those like him, now live and reign for a "thousand years." This is rather ironic, is it not, since Hitler's thousand-year Reich lasted a mere twelve years (1933–1945), and its Führer is now one of the most despised figures in human history.

It is in this sense, then, that Hitler is an antichrist figure, and John is indeed warning Christians about Hitler and those like him, who will repeatedly rise from the sea and the earth, until Jesus comes again.

Application:

The lesson of National Socialism and Christianity during Hitler’s reign was that Der Führer manifested a number of the antichristic traits of John’s “beast” of the Book of Revelation. His rise to power was accompanied by the smell of sulfur and cloven hoof-prints. That lesson risks being forgotten, and if so, the consequences will be just as dire.

From Season Five, Episode Two, Of the Blessed Hope Podcast

Why did Paul compose this letter? Romans is Paul’s longest letter and written to a church that neither he nor his coworkers had founded. People often speak of the Book of Romans as though Paul were writing a systematic treatise on the Christian faith. Phillip Melanchthon famously described Romans as a compendium of Christian doctrine refuting Romanism.[1] As Roman Catholic biblical scholar, Joseph Fitzmyer points out, “one can almost write the history of Christian theology by surveying the ways in which Romans has been interpreted.”[2] No doubt true and a very good point worth considering.

Yes, Paul does have a systematic core of doctrinal beliefs expressed at many points throughout Romans, but this epistle is written to the church in Rome likely to introduce himself and explain his future travel plans which included a visit to the city.[3] While Romans does address a particular set of circumstances (focusing upon the relationship between Jews and Gentiles in the church, along with the nature of God’s righteousness which revealed in the gospel), the Book of Romans is not a systematic theology of the Christian faith in any modern sense of the term.[4]

Many interpreters of the Book of Romans have attempted to identify a single theme which dominates the letter.[5] Yet Paul says little about why he composed this letter, although in the introduction (verses 1-15) he does speak of his future travel plans. He informs the Roman congregation that he hopes to go to Spain after his trip to Jerusalem is completed, and if he does, he will stop and visit the church in Rome on his way back from Jerusalem, and then go on to Spain.[6] His desire to make this trip is expressed again at the end of the letter in Romans 15:25. When Paul employs Tertius to set his words to parchment, Paul is still in Corinth–things there apparently calmer–getting ready to make his way to Jerusalem to deliver the offering for the poor collected from the Corinthians and the churches of Macedonia as recounted in Acts 20-21.[7] But so far, he tells the Romans, he has been prevented from making his way to Spain because present circumstances require him to take care of other matters before that can happen (cf. Romans 1:13; 15:22).

Therefore, one reason for writing Romans is strategic. The Christians in Rome would be able to help support such a missionary endeavor at the opposite end of the Mediterranean Sea from Paul’s immediate destination, Jerusalem. In fact, in Romans 15:24, Paul speaks of possible help from the Romans should the Lord open that door.[8] Paul is, in part, writing this letter to introduce himself to an important church in the very heart of the Roman empire. A very good reason to write an epistle such as this one.

Paul also speaks of his desire to give the Romans a spiritual gift (Romans 1:11) which anticipates his comments toward the end of the epistle about his desire to preach the gospel in person to this congregation so as to make sure there was peace in the church between Jew and Gentile (Romans 12:3; 15:15-16).[9] Such Jew-Gentile issues were faced by most first century churches and can be boiled down to a single question, “as fellow believers in Jesus Christ, how are Jews and Gentiles to get along with each other in the church given the mistrust and cultural differences between the two groups?”

Those Jews who came to believe that Jesus was Israel’s Messiah, wondered what to do with Moses and law-keeping once they were convinced that Jesus was that one foretold by Israel’s own prophets. On the other hand, Gentile converts who came to believe that Jesus was the Son of God had never heard of Moses, Abraham, David, or Isaiah, nor they had read any of the Old Testament. Their struggle was to rid themselves of their pagan practices now that they had become Christians. Many Jews wanted Gentile converts to live as Jewish proselytes (something which Paul condemns in Galatians), while many Gentiles couldn’t understand why Jews had a problem with their eating supposedly unclean food (such as pork) and remaining uncircumcized, which is why James warns Gentiles to be sensitive about Jewish scruples and practices reflected in the admonitions of the Jerusalem Council (cf. Acts 15:5-10).

This struggle between Jew and Gentile over the place of Moses, the role of the law and its relationship to the gospel, and living a Christian life “in Christ,” explains why it is that Romans speaks so powerfully to Christians in an age such as ours when in many circles the gospel has been obscured by apathetic fog, or completely lost. The Jews in Rome were struggling with legalism–“what does God require of me to be justified?” The Gentiles in Rome were struggling with living out the doctrines of a new religion–“since I am saved by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, what does God expect of me now that I am a Christian living in a throughly pagan environment?” Bigger questions need to be answered as well. What is God doing in bringing these two seemingly incompatible groups together in a new covenant and one spiritual body–the church? What does the future hold for Jew and Gentile in light of Christ’s expected return? All these issues remain with us today . . . And they are only resolved through a proper understanding of the gospel.

________________________________

[1] Philip Melanchthon, Commentary on Romans, trans., Fred Kramer (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1992), 11.

[2] Joseph A. Fitzmyer, Romans: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, vol. 33, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; Yale University Press, 2008), xiii.

[3] See J. Christiaan Beker, “Recasting Pauline Theology: The Coherence-Contingency Scheme as Interpretive Model,” in Jouette M. Bassler, Pauline Theology, Volume 1: Thessalonians, Philippians, Galatians, Philemon (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1994), 15-24.

[4] See Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, 16.

[5] For a summary of discussions of Paul’s central theme, see: D. A. Carson, Douglas J. Moo and Leon Morris, An Introduction to the New Testament (Grand Rapids: The Zondervan Corporation, 1992), cf. 241-242. An excellent history of the interpretation of Romans is found in Cranfield, Commentary on Romans, I.30-44, and Westerholm, Romans: Text, Readers, and the History of Interpretation.

[6] Cranfield, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, I.12-16; Carson, Moo and Morris, An Introduction to the New Testament, 252-253.

[7] Compare Acts 24:17 with Romans 15:23-38.

[8] See Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, 17-18.

[9] Thielman, Paul, 215.

The Prayer of faith Is Not An “Abracadabra” for Healing

What is the most important thing that a persecuted and suffering church can do? The answer is so obvious that we easily overlook it. Pray!

In the final verses of his epistle, James wraps up with an exhortation to the suffering Christians of the Dispersion to seek the power of God through prayer. James reminds them that prayer is the means through which God sustains his people, especially during times of great trial. Sadly, many in our day have turned James’s exhortation to pray for healing into a mantra through which God will supposedly heal all of our diseases–if only we dare claim what is rightfully ours. Instead of seeing James’s exhortation to pray as the means through which God sustains us in the midst of our trials, faith-healers, and prosperity gospelers have turned James’s words into a magical “abracadabra” supposedly enabling us to “claim our miracle.”

It always amazes me that persecuted Jewish Christians to whom James is writing would never understood James in this way, yet prosperous Americans, who have never known a moment of persecution in their lives, take James to be promising them health and wealth. But what James is doing is reminding persecuted Christians that God has heard their cries, and that he stands ever ready to help in time of need. All we need do is ask.

Wrapping Up

With this post, we conclude our series on the Book of James as we make our way through the final verses of chapter five. I hope this series has been as helpful and interesting to you as it has been to me. There is much here for us and I hope you now feel as at home in the Book of James as you do in the letters of Paul.

While some have thought that the Book of James is nothing more than warmed over Jewish legalism, we have seen how that sentiment could not be further from the truth. James does not contradict Paul when it comes to justification. When interpreted correctly, James reminds us of the importance of good works, as well as the need for us to be more than mere “hearers” of the word. In fact, James has taught us that it is God who brings us forth (from death to life) through the preached word which he implants within us, thereby ensuring that we hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

James exhorts struggling Christians to draw near to God, because James knows God’s promise that God will draw near to us whenever we seek his face. James reminds that when we humble ourselves, God responds by exalting us. James tells us that whenever we seek God’s grace, God is willing to give us even more grace. James is very clear that from beginning to end, the Christian life is grounded in the grace of God, who has promised to see us through all of the trials of life. The way in which God sees us through the trials of life is through prayer, the subject of this exposition.

Waiting Patiently

As we turn to the final section of James 5, we pick up with verse 12, which we briefly considered last time. Then we’ll take up James’s discussion of prayer, beginning in verse 13. One of the difficulties in interpreting the Book of James can be seen with verses like this which seem disconnected from what has gone before or comes after. It is hard to tell whether verse 12 goes with the preceding–James’s warning to those rich landowners who were exploiting Jewish Christians who were forced to leave Jerusalem to seek safety in areas to the north and east of the city–or does it go with what follows, “above all” being James directive that not swearing an oath is the most important exhortation in this letter.

As displaced refugees, many of James’s readers were now forced to eke out a living, finding themselves at the mercy of those landowners who were, apparently, withholding wages from these refugees. After reminding his readers that Jesus’s return was imminent–hence, God’s judgment was soon to come upon those who persecuted God’s people–James tells them that they should wait patiently for the Lord, because in the meantime believers can surely count upon the Lord’s compassion and mercy to sustain them in the midst of their trials. Since James’s readers are largely Jewish converts to Christianity, they knew the story of Job, as well as the history of Israel’s prophets who had suffered greatly at the hands of their own people. Those who know the Old Testament know that God is always faithful to his suffering people, just as he will be faithful to those to whom James is writing.

Let Your “Yes” Be “Yes”

It is in this context that James can say, “But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your `yes’ be yes and your `no’ be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.” Most translations tie verse 12 to the preceding. I tend to agree, because if you tie this verse to what follows, you have James wrapping up his epistle in saying, “above all else,” don’t swear an oath. But that is hardly the most important things James has to say. I take James 1:22 to be the thesis statement for the entire letter. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” So, it seems much better to see James 5:12 as the conclusion of the previous section dealing with the need to be patient until the Lord returns.[1]

James’s words echo the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:34-37.

“But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.”

But are James and Jesus actually forbidding us from taking any sort of an oath, under any circumstances? Not likely. James’s point is that in light of the exhortation for Christians to be patient while waiting for the Lord’s return, Christians should not rashly make oaths as this would be a manifestation of impatience–the opposite of waiting patiently for the Lord’s return. Nor should Christians “swear” in connection to such oaths. This is not a reference to crude speech (“swearing”), but to invoking God’s name as some sort of character reference when taking an oath–“in the name of God I swear that I am telling the truth.”

Some Anabaptist groups take James to be forbidding all oaths, hence their refusal to swear oaths in civil courts or serve in the military. But the context seems to indicate that both James and Jesus are not dealing with “official oaths” (i.e., those oaths tied to civic duties). Instead, it appears that this is a reference to personal oaths which people were taking under duress, invoking the name of God to give that personal oath much more credibility. This would explain why James exhorts his readers to simply let their “yes” be “yes,” and their “no,” be “no.” Why should a Christian who is committed to truth-telling need to supplement their “yes” or “no” with an oath invoking the name of God? James and Jesus are exhorting Christians to be truth-tellers, which shouldn’t require some sort of personal oath to give the truth some extra weight. Christians shouldn’t need to invoke the Lord’s name, if their own word is truthful.

If James 5:12 is an exhortation which caps off his discussion of the blessing which awaits God’s people when the Judge (Jesus) returns, along with the warning of curse to those wealthy landowners who were persecuting the people of God, then verse 13 opens the final section of James’s epistle, which is an exhortation for Christians to seek the power of God during difficult times through prayer, especially in regards to matters related to personal health and physical healing.

Considering the circumstances under which James is writing this would be expected since many in James’s audience were destitute, and struggling to get by. The daily troubles faced by persecuted Christian refugees would take a great toll on both body and soul. Those to whom James is writing need to be reminded of God’s great power in accomplishing his will for his people, no matter what their current circumstances. The way in which people seek God’s aid during trial is through prayer.

The Question of Suffering

In verse 13, James asks the critical question which frames the concluding verses. “Is anyone among you suffering?” The word translated “suffering” means something like “enduring hardship.” The focus is not so much upon physical suffering–although physical suffering is certainly included–as it is the kind of suffering that the righteous must endure which comes from the hand of the wicked. These hardships include economic troubles, along with the related maladies of a persecuted people including physical illness and emotional distress.

The obvious answer to James’s rhetorical question (is anyone suffering?) is “yes.” The solution, James says is, “Let him pray.” In Ephesians 6:16, Paul makes a similar point–“pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.” From other comments made by James–i.e., in 1:2-4; 12, 5:7-11–James is not instructing people to petition God to remove their various trials. Rather, James is instructing us to ask that God would grant us what is necessary so as to understand our trials in the right way. Our prayer should be that God will help us gain the right attitude so that we trust in his purposes, knowing that God will somehow turn these difficult trials to good.[2] James is exhorting believers to ask God to give them strength to endure whatever God sends their way. James is not teaching us how to claim our miracle, or to bind the demon of whatever it is that is troubling us.

While many of James’s readers are enduring very difficult hardships, many of them have peace of mind in the midst of these difficult times. And so James can ask, “is anyone cheerful?” Those who have a sense that God has allowed these trials for a reason, and that God has given them the spiritual strength to endure them, are to likewise make the appropriate response of faith. “Let him sing praise.” Christians should not only be in the habit of praying for God’s grace and help whenever they encounter difficult times, but Christians should also be in the habit of giving praise to God whenever they consider that God is working all things–including their trials–for good.

This is the prayer-praise cycle which should characterize the Christian life. Christians are to pray constantly, offering petitions unto the Lord requesting his grace and mercy to help them through their trials. Also Christians are to offer words (songs) of praise unto the Lord, which is the response from someone who trusts that God will see them through every one of life’s difficult circumstances. This what the Heidelberg Catechism is getting at when it speaks of the Christian life as one of gratitude–the offering up of both prayers and praises because of all that God has done for us in Christ.

The Healing of the Sick

In verses 14-15, James now turns to one of the most common occasions when Christians seek the power of God through prayer, and that is when illness strikes. James asks, “is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” Sadly, this is one of the most distorted verses in all the New Testament, as Word-Faith devotees have turned these verses into a mantra for healing, which if spoken correctly, and without any doubting, supposedly guarantees immediate recovery. There is nothing more destructive than to tell a sick and suffering person that it is God’s will for them to be healed, provided they have sufficient faith. When the healing doesn’t come, the sick person is blamed for not having enough faith, or for having some hidden sin in their lives which prevents God from healing them.

Not only is this not what James is saying, but the Word-Faith notion of healing is nothing more than a sinful tantrum. “God heal me right now–you promised!” First off, the word translated “sick” is used throughout the New Testament in reference to all kinds of conditions–including mental ability (Romans 6:19), someone’s spiritual condition (Romans 5:6), someone’s physical appearance (2 Corinthians 10:10), as well as to someone’s physical condition. The word has the sense of “being weak,” and is not limited to a physical illness, although it includes sickness.[3] So, when James asks, “is anyone among you weak?” he’s speaking of the effects of persecution and difficult times upon the body–this includes sickness, as well as emotional distress.

Pastors and Elders – Not Celebrity Televangelists

Notice that the sick person is not commanded to pray for themselves, although they can, but to summon the elders, who are to pray over them. This tells us that the apostolic church (even as early as the mid-fortie sof the first century), was ruled by elders (“Presbyterian” church government). No question that the elders were men who were well grounded in the Christian faith who watched over a congregation’s life and doctrine. The frequent mention of elders throughout the churches of the New Testament (who were to shepherd their flocks–cf. Acts 20:28) tell us that pastors and elders were also assigned the task of comforting those in crisis. Whatever James will tell us about prayer and healing, the context in which these things should take place, is the local church and its officers, not a stadium filled with a gazillion people being whooped up into a frenzy by some celebrity-like evangelist who blows on people and makes them fall over. Such is much more likely to be halitosis than the power of God.

While Paul speaks of a supernatural gift of healing, James seems to tie healing to the prayers of church officers. How do we reconcile these two different approaches? For one thing, when Paul speaks of gifts of miracles and healing in 1 Corinthians 12:9, 28, I take him to be referring to those extra-ordinary gifts of the Spirit which were closely associated to the office of apostle. When the apostles planted new churches, they did not ordain new apostles. Rather, they ordained ministers, elders, and deacons. The ministers and elders were to rule in the name of Christ, while the deacons were to display God’s mercy to his people. It is also important to notice that James does not restrict prayer for healing only to the ministers and elders–in fact, in verse 16, James speaks of the role all believers play in praying for the sick. James’s exhortation to those who are sick certainly seems to imply that the person who needs prayer for sickness or physical weakness is sick/weak enough that the elders need to come to their home or sickbed. This implies the laying on of hands which likely accompanied the prayer for the sick. It has long been part of Reformed pastoral practice that ministers and elders visit those who are sick, both to pray for them and with them, and to offer a word of God’s assurance in light of the doubt that often accompanies illness.

Anointing of the Sick

What are we to make of James’s exhortation that elders are to anoint the sick with oil at the time of prayer? The only other time this practice is even mentioned in the New Testament is in Mark 6:13, where we read that the apostles “cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.” Neither Mark nor James offer any specifics about the practice.

There have been four main suggestions as to what this anointing with oil means. Some see a medicinal purpose–oil was often poured on wounds and other injuries. The idea is that Christians use medicine and prayer at the time of sickness. Others see the oil as an outward sign–just as Jesus used mud, spittle, and other tangible things when he healed. Some see a sacramental purpose in the use of oil. The Greek church has utilized this practice from ancient times, and the Roman church sees the application of oil as a sacrament performed by a priest at the time of death (extreme unction)–the anointing of oil being the sign of the removal of sins and the strengthening of the soul before death. Vatican II calls this the “anointing of the sick,” and is now part of Roman Catholic pastoral practice. Still others see the anointing with oil as symbolic of the consecration (setting apart) of a person or thing for God’s redemptive purposes. Luther, Calvin, and many Reformed theologians (Warfield, being one) believe that this act of anointing with oil was tied to the apostolic power to heal, so the practice passed away with the close of the apostolic period.[4]

An Act of Consecration

Now, without going into all the arguments for or against each of these positions, it seems to me that the evidence is far and away the strongest for seeing the practice of anointing with oil as a sign of consecration. That many others were healed throughout the New Testament without the use of oil seems to indicate that James is referring to some sort of symbolic act, which is not in any sense necessary for healing to actually take place. But let us not miss the forest through the trees. What is clear is James’s stress upon having both the elders (and pastors) and others in the church pray for the sick–with the expectation that if these prayers are offered in faith, God will “save” the one who is sick and then raise them up. No doubt, James’s words here reflect the various accounts throughout the gospels, where Jesus heals someone, and they were raised up from their sickbed as evidence of the fact that they were healed.

There are a couple of things here of interest. James does not use the normal word for prayer which appears throughout the New Testament (proseuchomai). Instead, James uses the rare word “euche,” which can mean either a vow, or a fervent wish. James is not setting forth some iron-clad principle of healing. He is telling us that when those who pray for the sick, do so, fervently desiring that the person for whom they are praying be healed, if it be his will, God will heal them (the word to save can also refer to physical healing) and then raise them up from their sick beds.

A Prayer Offered “In Faith”

The critical clause is that prayer “offered in faith,” which implies not a demand on our part that God make good on his promise to heal, but that those who pray are humbly asking that God’s will and purposes be accomplished in and through the person’s suffering. And if it be God’s will, that prayer, fervently offered, can and does bring about physical healing. A prayer offered in faith is not a mantra, nor a demand. It is simply and humbly asking God for what we need, with the knowledge that God is always faithful to us in the midst of our trials.

There is an echo in James’s words from the opening verses of Psalm 38

O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me. There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

When we are sick, our default setting is that God is punishing us for our sins. That is why James connects healing to the forgiveness of sins.

This fits with the final clause of the verse “and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” No question that all sickness stems from human sin. That said, it is impossible to trace all illnesses to specific sins. There is no spiritual principle here of “stepping on a crack and breaking your mother’s back.” We get sick because we are sinful, not necessarily because we may have committed some specific sin which made God mad at us, so he caused us to get some particular illness. Whatever illnesses we suffer are tied to God’s mysterious providential purposes for our lives. The person in the sickbed needs to know that if they are in Christ, all their sins are forgiven. Such an absolution may indeed bring about physical healing, a point confirmed in verse 16. “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

When believers confess their sins, each to the other, and when believers pray for each other, God works in powerful ways. Too many times, we have seen people tie the power of God to some sort of weird religious experience–that James is supposedly referring to God’s power as something we experience directly. Rather, James is speaking of God’s power as his ability to heal us from our illnesses. It also must be said that any physical healing is tied to Christ’s priestly work for us on the cross in taking away the guilt of our sins. God has promised all of us complete and total healing, if not in this life, then certainly on the day of resurrection.

The Righteous Man (or Woman)

Furthermore, when James speaks of a righteous man, he’s not speaking of someone who is more righteous than others, the kind of person who is so righteous that God really hears that person’s prayers and then answers them. No, all Christians are righteous through their faith in Christ. Any Christian who prays–James says–can witness God’s power in bringing about healing (if God wills it), because God works powerfully through a Christian’s prayer, especially when those prayers are for the sick and tied to our confidence in Christ’s redemptive purposes on Calvary. Healing is directly tied to the promises of the gospel and to the forgiveness of sins.

James gives us a very specific example of what he is talking about. In verses 17-18, he appeals to the ministry of Elijah. “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.” While Elijah has a reputation as a great prophet with a close relationship with God, James reminds us that we are just like Elijah. We too know the power of God, because we trust in Christ’s cross and resurrection. There is no reason for Christians to lack confidence when praying, because we know that through our prayers, God accomplishes his wonderful purposes. Therefore, we should all be as zealous and as fervent when we pray as was Elijah. We should pray believing that God can accomplish his purpose and, if it be his will, grant us our request.

As we come to the end of this epistle, James leaves us with one final call to be “doers” of the word and not mere “hearers.” There are no final benedictions or greetings, just one last exhortation to act. As we read in verses 19-20, “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” Speaking to his dear persecuted brothers throughout these churches, James now exhorts them to make every effort to restore those who wander from the truth. This is likely a reference to those who felt compelled to return to Judaism because the persecution they were facing was just too great. But those who are successful in bringing such a person back into the fold can be confident that their actions were instrumental in preventing someone from falling away from the faith. James leaves us with that wonderful reminder that no repentant sinner–no matter what they have done–is beyond the reach of a gracious God. Those who “do the word” will not just watch as their brothers and sisters wander away. They will make every effort to bring the wanderer back, knowing that they will save that wandering soul from death.

The Take Away

James has promised us that if we draw near to God, he will draw near to us. He has told us that if we need grace, God will give us more grace. James has told us that if we need wisdom from God, all we need do is ask. And so in the closing verses of this epistle James describes the way in which God draws near, gives us grace, and dispenses his wisdom–through the prayer of faith.

Is anyone undergoing hardship? Then pray! For this is how God draws near, gives more grace, and dispenses heavenly wisdom.

Is anyone cheerful? Is your heart filled with gratitude? Then let your heart be filled with praises and songs unto the Lord!

Is anyone sick or weak? Summon the elders, let them pray for you. Ask for the prayers of the saints. Know that your sins are forgiven and that God will see you through all of your trials. If it be his will, he will heal you! If not he will give you the strength to endure.

Is anyone burdened with sin and guilt? Confess your sins each to the other and know that your sins are forgiven in Christ!

Is someone you know wandering from the truth? Then go and get them and save their soul from death!

God has promised that the prayer of faith accomplishes great things. For not only do we see God’s power manifest in his ability to answer prayer, we know that prayer is one of the means through which God accomplishes his purposes. And when we pray as James has exhorted us, we are “doers of the word,” whom James says, will be blessed in our doing!

Amen!

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[1] Contra Moo, The Epistle of James, 231-234.

[2] Moo, The Epistle of James, 234-235.

[3] Moo, The Epistle of James, 236-237.

[4] See the helpful discussion in Moo, The Epistle of James, 236-242.

“The Ground of This Assurance”

Accordingly, this assurance does not derive from some private revelation beyond or outside the Word, but from faith in the promises of God which he has very plentifully revealed in his Word for our comfort, from the testimony “of the Holy Spirit testifying with our spirit that we are God’s children and heirs” (Rom. 8:16–17), and finally from a serious and holy pursuit of a clear conscience and of good works. And if God’s chosen ones in this world did not have this well-founded comfort that the victory will be theirs and this reliable guarantee of eternal glory, they would be of all people most miserable.

________________________________________

The assurance of one’s salvation is not strictly a theological matter, but essentially a pastoral one. How can God’s people live in the knowledge that God will deliver them from the guilt and power of sin, despite the flesh (the sinful nature) continuing to create sinful thoughts and desires within which often manifest in sinful acts and behaviors? Anyone who has ever wrestled with the question, “how can I know that I will be saved?” has dealt with the matter addressed in this article.

The Dutch Arminians (along with Roman Catholics) contend that the Reformed view of the assurance of one’s salvation (that you can presently know that you will be saved) leads to the sin of presumption—we presume that God will save us despite the possibility of serious future sin and the possibility of apostasy (falling away). The challenge raised is that a Christian may believe the gospel at present, but cannot be assured that at some future point they will not fall into serious sin or renounce the faith. To presume that we can have such assurance, it is claimed, makes people indifferent to sin and lazy and careless in the pursuit of holiness. “If I can’t lose my salvation (and have a false assurance that I will not) then what motive do I have to avoid sin or strive to make progress in the Christian life.” The critics of the Reformed view often opt for suitable motivation through asserting that the Christian life is grounded in the “fear of punishment and hope of reward.”

In previous articles under the fifth head of doctrine, the Canons addressed the reality of indwelling sin in believers, and emphasized the fact that despite the temptations and struggles of the Christian life, true believers will persevere to the end of their lives in faith and repentance because Jesus preserves them through his present work as mediator and intercessor.

Here, the Canons deal with yet another aspect of the assurance of salvation: the work of the Holy Spirit. Believers need not seek a special work of grace or a secret revelation promising them assurance in addition to what has already been revealed in the word of God—the role of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life. The Canons put it this way: “Accordingly, this assurance does not derive from some private revelation beyond or outside the Word, testimony `of the Holy Spirit testifying with our spirit that we are God’s children and heirs’ (Rom. 8:16–17), but from faith in the promises of God which he has very plentifully revealed in his Word for our comfort.” A clear conscience is the only solid foundation which can provide the freedom to actually do good works and pursue holy things. God’s saving mercy in Christ is a promise of his love and forgiveness, not a sinful presumption leading to indifference to our sins.

In addition to the text cited in article ten—“the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God”—the present intercession of Jesus on behalf of sinners also comes to mind (John 17; 1 John 2:1-2). Paul goes on to speak of us as children and heirs of God, “and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” This is hardly a religion of fear and reward seeking, but of comfort and confidence, not in ourselves, but in our intercessor (Jesus) and the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 8:24-28), who helps us in our weakness (Romans 8:26) and enables us to cry “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15). The motivation for striving to obey the commandments and avoiding sin is neither fear nor gain, but as the Heidelberg Catechism puts it, “gratitude.” We can live in faith and comfort, knowing that God will complete his work in us through Christ and in the Holy Spirit. We serve him joyfully because of who he is and what he has done for us.

What a miserable existence it is for those who, out of fear, avoid God’s holy presence and seek to gain his favor by what they do. No, as the article puts it, “and if God’s chosen ones in this world did not have this well-founded comfort that the victory will be theirs and this reliable guarantee of eternal glory, they would be of all people most miserable.” Indeed.

Episode Synopsis:

When Paul writes his letter to the church in Rome, he is still in Corinth, having made a difficult visit there to deal with the ongoing problems in the Corinthian church, which we addressed in Season Four (when we covered 2 Corinthians). But things have improved in Corinth to the point that Paul is making plans to continue his Gentile mission. Before that can happen, Paul must make the journey to Jerusalem to deliver the offering collected from the churches in Greece. Having done that, Paul hopes to go on to Spain (at the opposite end of the Mediterranean Sea). The midpoint between Jerusalem and Spain is the Italian peninsula and the city of Rome. So Paul writes a letter of introduction to the church there, a letter which we now know as Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.

Paul is unquestionably the author of Romans. His epistle was sent by messenger – a woman named Phoebe – from Corinth to Rome early in 57 CE. In this letter, the apostle addresses a number of matters which we will discuss in great detail in future episodes. But if we are to boil down the contents of Romans to a single word, that word would be “gospel.” Paul does not say much about the church to which he is writing–he’s never been there. But we do know from the contents of this letter that like other churches of the Gentile mission, the Roman church was predominantly Gentile, though a number of Jews in Rome had come to faith in Jesus Christ. And so Paul must explain how these two groups fit in God’s larger plan and how they are to get along with each other despite their cultural and religious differences. Paul does this by stressing that both Jews and Gentiles are reckoned righteous, reconciled to the same God through the work of the same Savior in the power of the Holy Spirit, and this through the preaching of the one gospel.

Many Christians are familiar with the Book of Romans, but are likely far less familiar with the city, the situation there, and the recipients of this letter. What was Rome like in the days of Paul? What was it like to be an inhabitant of the city? How did you live, and under what circumstances? Where did you eat or work? What was it like to live under the reign of Nero? Life was brutal and cruel for many of the city’s inhabitants, but luxurious by first-century standards for others. Why were the Jews expelled twice from the city? And how did the gospel first arrive in the capital of this powerful pagan empire? It is an interesting story and I’ll do my best to tell it.

Show Notes:

It was a beautiful spring day when I recorded this episode–which means that the local municipal airport was busy. There were multiple interruptions, but I’ve gotten pretty good at editing out the offending airplane noises. Crows are a different matter however–they give no warning before they caw. I did notice that one that caw slipped through . . . Oh well.

It is allergy season in So Cal, so my voice is a bit thin.

Recommended Links:

Select Resources for the Study of Romans

Daily life in Rome

The Roman Empire in the First Century (PBS)

Why did Paul write Romans?

Music:

(Shutterstock): Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op 92m, second movement, Allegretto (A minor)

Who Said That?

After all, here was a person, proud to be a five-point Calvinist, whose doctrines would have been repudiated by Calvin. In fact, his doctrines would have gotten him tossed out of Geneva had he arrived there with his brand of "Calvinism" at any time during the late sixteenth or the seventeenth century. Perhaps more to the point, his beliefs stood outside of the theological limits presented by the great confessions

And about whom was it said?

Please leave your guess in the comments section using the link below.  Please no google searches or cheating. Don’t ruin it for everyone else!

Riddleblog and Blessed Hope Podcast Updates:

• Season Five of the Blessed Hope Podcast, a deep dive Bible study in the Book of Romans is now underway. Give it a listen!

• My series on James is coming to an end. Next up, the Epistles of John

Thinking Out Loud:

• With the landslide victory of James Paxton in the Texas Senate primary, and the democratic defense of Graham Platner’s Nazi Tattoo and horn dog behavior, it is all too clear that the personal morality of political candidates no longer matters to voters. I remember Bill Clinton’s claim “I didn’t inhale,” or the last minute revelation of George Bush’s DUI, that nearly cost each of them the presidency. Now, all the political tribes care about is gaining political advantage even if their chosen candidate is a moral degenerate. That does not bode well for the future of our Republic, which depends upon the virtue and morality of its elected officials

• Spencer Pratt’s campaign against Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass has been absolutely brilliant

• I believe that Satan is currently bound to the Abyss by the preaching of the gospel. But he does retain limited power to deceive. One place where he has been successful is deceiving publishers into using endnotes, not footnotes

• Churches ought to begin instructing their members about Islamic history and doctrine in conjunction with training to evangelize our Muslim neighbors. Islam will not be going away, and the mission field has come to us

• Aaron MacLean (School of War Podcast) host, nails it. “If each day we travel half the distance to an Iran deal, and then the day after that travel half *the remaining distance*, and then so on the day after that… logically there can never be an Iran deal.” I do worry that somehow Trump will manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory

• I would love to have the dollar amount spent on printing and mailing candidate advertisements to my home, which I throw away without even looking at them. What a waste

• It doesn’t show up as a polling question, but like him or not, “Trump fatigue” is a thing. I hope our next president (I’m hoping for Rubio) stays off social media, limits interaction with the press to several times a week, and is not on the news or social media on a constant basis

• My vote for the worst possible title for a book about Jan Hus is On Fire for God, by Victor Budgen and published by Evangelical Press in 2007. How did that get through editorial?

Recently Read:

Brett Whalen’s Dominion of God, (2009) was mentioned in someone’s social media discussion of resources on the end-times. Having just finished Michael Horton’s Magician and Mechanic, I realized how litle I knew about specifics of the eschatology of the medieval Roman Church, other than eschatolgical speculation was widespread due to the end of the millennium (just as with the Y2K craziness of our own age) and greatly influnced by Joachim of Fiore. But Whalen’s was a book I knew I needed to tackle.

Brett Whalen is a professor of intellectual history at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The volume does a capable job of recounting the eschatological speculation of the period. As such it filled in a signficiant lacuna in my own knowledge of the goings on in Rome during this time. Several of my recent posts on Medieval Antichrist speculation were prompted by Whalen’s book. If you are interested in the details spelled out by Whalen I will direct you there: A Holy Pope yet to Come?, Well, That Didn't Come to Pass As Expected -- More Medieval Antichrist Expectations, and Antichrist Speculation: Nothing New.

This is a well-written, quick-paced volume and serves as yet another reminder that nearly a millennium later, Christians are still prone to wild speculation about the end times in relation to their own current situation. Joachim’s stress upon the three stages of history—with the third stage (the “age of the Spirit” yet come)—prompted all sorts of speculation about when an “Age of the Spirit” would dawn, what it would be like when it did, and what must happen before it could come to pass. This expectation took place at a time when the Roman Church was exceedingly corrupt, Islamic armies had occupied the “holy sites” in Jerusalem and Palestine, the great East-West schism ocurred, and the crusades began with all manner of fleeting successes, dismal failures, and unexpected consequences. Whalen recounts these events in a very readable and informative manner.

In additional to covering ground with which I was not familiar, Whalen’s account brings to light some fruitful debate and discussion of the relevant biblical texts during this period, while at other times reveals that many of the church’s sounder minds were also prone to make sensational predictions which were offered in an attempt to explain the challanges and tribulations of their own age. Fear and uncertainty about the future drove much of this speculation, but when these efforts become unhinged from the biblical data, all sorts of craziness ensues.

Surely, there is a lesson there for all of us. So while we cry out, “Maranatha, Come Quickly Lord Jesus,” let us be careful not to do what Peter warns us about (2 Peter 3:3-4) —“knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, `Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.’” Let us not give scoffers things to scoff about, while we go about the business the Lord has assigned to us in Matthew 24:14. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Taking the gospel to the ends of the earth is the only sign of the end we can do anything about to hasten the Lord’s return.

Whalen’s book is not for all, but well worth reading if this period and topic is of interest to you.

Recommended Links:

• Best article yet on Ben Sasse’s struggle with terminal cancer—including his Reformed theological perspective and hope for the future: Ben Sasse Is Teaching us How to Die—and Live Well

• No postmillennial optimism in Isaiah 24-27

• School of War does it again. A great conversation from two clear-thinking men (Aaron MacLean and Douglas Murray)—who were both present in the Hilton ballroom for the Correspondent’s Dinner) about why “nice” young men are drawn to radical causes and commit radical acts of violence. A great discussion

• The Eastern Orthodox have long condemned Sola Fide

• Shane Lems Reviews, James Davison Hunter’s “To Change the World”

A Bit of Fun:

• Apparently slamming down hot dogs can cause you to lose your temper

• In the Spirit of Sammy Hagar, I can’t drive 17.3

• When a crazy Karen comes after your kid

• The attack of the killer pothole. Well that did not go as planned

• Don’t leave Fido alone in a car with a shotgun. A dog shoots a driver

• Yup, that probably merits an investigation

• Calling George Costanza: Is there a marine biologist nearby?

• Florida Man is back

• When there’s a pink elephant in the room—literally

• Cats doing their thing, again

• The war between the sexes continues—the great debate

• Frogs don’t like ICE

• Not quite Pat Boone’s pool—Your font is too small

• Chocolate has several beneficial health benefits, but I had not considered this

• “Gimme a Break, Gimme a Break, Break Me Off a Piece of that Kit Kat Bar” —12 tons worth

Previous Musings:

Spring 2026

Video:

There are not words! We need might “gender equity cards” for speakers at Synod and General Asssembly

From Season Five, Episode One of the Blessed Hope Podcast

Calvin’s commentary on the Book of Romans was his first commentary on any book of the Bible. It was written in 1539 and published the following year while Calvin was still in Strasbourg. His Romans commentary was revised in 1551 and again in 1556. It is my guess that many who have consulted Calvin on Romans have read neither Calvin’s dedication of the commentary to Simon Grynaeus nor his introductory essay on the theme of Romans. In these two essays, we get a fascinating glimpse of Calvin’s goal as a biblical interpreter and his estimation of the importance of grasping the central message of Paul’s great letter—the doctrine of justification by faith. We also get a sense of how Calvin felt about the transforming power of the Book of Romans.

In his dedication to Grynaeus, Calvin reminds him that “both of us felt that lucid brevity constituted the particular virtue of an interpreter.” Conversely, says Calvin, a commentator “misses his mark, or at least strays outside his limits by the extent to which he leads his readers away from the meaning of his author.” It is especially important to be brief and lucid when commenting on Romans, writes Calvin, “because if we understand this epistle we have a passage opened to us to the understanding of the whole of Scripture.”[1]

While Calvin lauds the recent commentaries of Melanchthon, Bullinger, and Bucer, he felt a lucid and brief commentary on Romans should be produced “for no other reason that the common good of the Church.”[2] While Calvin admired Martin Bucer’s genius, Bucer’s own commentary on Romans was over 500 double-column pages with a title approaching one hundred words.[3] That was too much for the current need. Although Calvin felt at times compelled to depart from the views of his illustrious predecessors, this stemmed not from a desire to be an innovator, to slander others, or from personal ambition. Rather, Calvin felt that the power and importance of the Book of Romans was too great not to comment upon it. Because of the necessity of expounding Holy Scripture for God’s people plainly and simply—particularly this book of the Bible, in which we learn so clearly of Christ and the gospel—Calvin attempted to set forth Paul’s gospel to the church in Rome in a brief and lucid form.

In Calvin’s essay on the theme of Romans, he makes the point that while Romans has many outstanding virtues, there is one virtue in particular that all Christians must appreciate: “If we have gained an understanding of this Epistle, we have an open door to all the most profound treasures of Scripture.”[4] According to Calvin, in the Book of Romans, we truly do have the key to understanding the whole Bible. If we understand Paul here and grasp his main point—“that we are justified by faith”—we will be able to navigate our way through much of the Old Testament, since Paul quotes over sixty passages from the Old Testament and alludes to a number of others. We will also understand the gospel as it was preached by the apostles.

Therefore, to understand the Book of Romans, says Calvin, is to understand the gospel. And that gospel is centered in Paul’s message of justification by faith alone.

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[1] John Calvin, The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Romans and to the Thessalonians, trans., Ross McKenzie (William B. Eerdmans, 1979), 1.

[2] Calvin, The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Romans and to the Thessalonians, 3.

[3] T. H. L Parker, Commentaries on Romans: 1532-1542 (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1986), 37. Calvin considered Melancthon’s commentary, “unbalanced and insufficient,” but praised Bullinger’s work on Romans since he has “the gift of teaching” (75).

[4] Calvin, The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Romans and to the Thessalonians, 5.

Difficult Times for Christians in Palestine

Throughout the decade or so after Jesus’s death, resurrection, and ascension, Jewish Christians living in Palestine and Syria faced very difficult circumstances. In the Palestine of James’s day (the mid-forties of the first century), the act of confessing that Jesus was Israel’s Messiah would have been a costly one. Many Jews living in Jerusalem became Christians. However, many more sided with the Sanhedrin (the Jewish religious leadership) and saw Jesus as a messianic pretender who diverted the nation’s attention away from the pressing issue of the day—overthrowing Rome’s occupation of their homeland.

James is writing to Christians who have paid a great price to profess their faith in Jesus. Many of his readers had been driven out of the Jerusalem area into the surrounding countryside. In the opening verse of this letter, James addressed them as “the Dispersion.” As religious refugees, these people were often at the mercy of wealthy landowners, who were exploiting them for personal gain. It was a difficult time and place to be a Christian. James writes both to offer them words of encouragement and to exhort them not to be mere hearers of the word. James reminds his audience that there is a day of judgment yet to come when all of these wrongs will be made right. But until that day comes, God’s people must be patient.

We Are Nearing the End—A Quick Summation

We are quickly coming to the end of this series on James as we make our way into the fifth and closing chapter. We now take up the first half of chapter five (verses 1-12), while next time, Lord willing, we’ll take up the final section of this letter (verses 13-20).

As we have seen throughout our study of James, the author attributes the salvation of his hearers and readers to the grace of God, who has brought them forth to new life through the preached word. James has told of how God implanted that word within them, and how these same Christians hold fast to their faith in Jesus, “the Lord of glory.” James has explained how the law of God exposes us as lawbreakers, but then goes on to describe how, for a Christian, the law of God is a law of liberty. Having been justified by the merits of Christ received through faith, the law now serves as our guide for living the Christian life and doing good works.

James has explained that the faith which justifies us is a faith that manifests itself in good works as its fruit. True religion can be seen through very specific actions: the taming of our tongues, the care of widows and orphans, avoiding worldliness (thinking and acting like a pagan), and treating the rich and poor with equal respect. James has warned us about our sinful passions at war within us. He has told us how these sinful passions produce jealousy and quarreling, and how they lead us to seek our own way so as to exalt ourselves over others. James has warned us that because our lives are short, we should not boast about tomorrow. He has comforted us with the reminder that if we draw near to God, God will draw near to us. If we seek grace, God is willing to give us more grace. James has told us to seek wisdom from above, because if we do so, we will experience a harvest of righteousness. Indeed, if we humble ourselves before God, God will exalt us. James’s emphasis upon humility continues into chapter 5.

Additional Warnings to the Rich

As we turn to our text (James 5:1-12), we find yet another warning to the rich, only this time James’s words are much sharper than his previous warnings. However, these warnings are not directed toward wealthy Christians within these churches. A good case can be made that James is speaking to those wealthy landowners outside the church who were persecuting the believers to whom James is writing.

Before we go through the passage itself, it is important to recall that this section of James is very closely linked to James 4:13-17, which we considered in our last installment. Recall that James was making the point that life is short—we are but a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow. Those who make their daily plans without submitting those plans to the Lord through prayer (“if the Lord wills”) are actually boasting in themselves. As James sees it, this boasting is evil because such behavior arrogantly assumes that creatures determine their own futures, when that determination belongs to our Creator, not to us. Throughout chapter 5, James’s point is that the rich—those who trust their wealth so much that they are lulled into thinking that they, not God, are in control of their own destinies—need to seriously reconsider this sinful attitude. Their wealth will fail them on the day of judgment when all things are brought into the open. James is reminding his hearers that it is God who controls their futures, not them.

There has been much discussion about the identity of the “rich” in this particular section of James. As we will see in verse 4, there can be little doubt that James is referring to wealthy landowners who dominated the rural areas to the northeast and northwest of Jerusalem. I contend that this is a different group of wealthy people than those mentioned back in chapter 2, where James described a serious problem that had arisen within the churches (i.e., the assembly). The situation James describes there is that the rich were honored and welcomed in the assembly, while the poor were often treated with disrespect. James reminds his audience that while God may call some to be poor, He has also made them rich in faith. Discrimination in the church based upon wealth or appearance is a sin. Those who act deferentially to the rich—presumably to receive some kind of favor from them—need to consider that it was the rich who were able to manipulate the system to their own advantage. The rich were taking the poor to court, thereby causing God’s name to be dishonored before the Gentiles.

The Problem Is Greed, Not Wealth

There is no question, then, that in James chapter 2, James is speaking directly to those Christians who were favoring the wealthy members of these churches (landowners and merchants), while at the same time dishonoring the poor through shabby treatment. But in James chapter 5, the evidence clearly shows that James is speaking of a different group of individuals. For one thing, it is rather striking that in chapter 5 James speaks of these rich merchants in exactly the same manner as the Old Testament prophets who warned rich, unbelieving Gentiles of a final judgment yet to come.[1] This warning is far different in spirit and in tone than James’s earlier exhortation about not favoring the rich at the expense of the poor within the Christian assembly.

In fact, James’s language in chapter 5 is quite typical of the widespread Old Testament condemnation of wealthy landowners who exploit the poor who work their land, desperately trying to eke out a living. In contemporary theological debate, the sin associated with the wealthy exploiting the poor is picked up by advocates of so-called “liberation theology,” who argue that the accumulation of wealth is in and of itself sinful, and that in a just society (i.e., a Marxist society) personal wealth should be redistributed so that class distinctions are equalized. Liberation theologians often cite James chapter 5 in attempting to make their case. But the redistribution of wealth is hardly James’s point.

It is vital that we understand that what is condemned in the Old Testament is not wealth per se, but the misuse of wealth, especially in those instances when those who owned the land gained that wealth through exploiting the poor who worked it. This is James’s point here. There was no “middle class” in first-century Palestine. In addition to the migrant workers who worked land owned by someone else, there were tradesmen (with particular skills), unskilled laborers (carpenters, masons, herders, etc., who went wherever work could be found), a few government bureaucrats, and even fewer clerics. A typical wealthy landowner hired tenant farmers who lived on the estate, worked the land, and were allowed to keep a portion of their labor for themselves. Such people were at the complete mercy of the landowner, not only for a place to live but also for the amount of food they were allowed to keep—the excess of which was sold or traded for other necessities. A greedy landowner could make life absolutely unbearable for tenant farmers, which, apparently, was the case here.

When the Wealthy Exploit the Poor

Therefore, it is quite likely that James is referring to the “rich” outside the church who are cruelly exploiting the poor, many of whom are members of the churches to whom James is writing. It may even be the case that the specific rich landowners exploiting the poor were doing so because the poor were Jewish Christians who had been forced out of the Jerusalem area into the countryside because it was increasingly difficult to survive in the cities. Christian refugees would have been forced into migrant farming or day labor, even though many of them had been tradesmen doing something else for a living prior to their conversion to Christianity. There is no doubt that James is writing to warn these wealthy landowners of a coming judgment, while at the same time he is offering a strong word of encouragement to these poor, persecuted Christians, who need to be reminded that their defender is none other than God Himself.

The fifth chapter of James opens with a solemn word of warning to these wealthy landowners who were creating such hardship for God’s people. Sounding like an Old Testament prophet, James writes, “come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.” The words “weep” and “wail” are typically used throughout the Old Testament to describe the sounds the unbeliever will make on the day of judgment. This is not a reference to some sort of temporal judgment—the loss of wealth or property—as becomes clear when James’s words are understood against their Old Testament background. Take, for example, a passage such as Isaiah 13:6: “Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come!”

James Warns of a Judgment Yet to Come

Echoing a number of Israel’s prophets as well as the specific warning of a covenant curse upon the wealthy who exploit the poor found throughout the Mosaic law, there can be little doubt that James is speaking of the final day of judgment yet to come—that day when no one’s wealth, no matter how great, can save them.[2] As is his custom, James may also be echoing the words of woe spoken by Jesus in Luke 6:24-25: “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.”

James’s point is clear: those wealthy landowners who were oppressing the poor should themselves be terrified of the coming day of judgment. Those who have not known misery in this life—yet who cause such great misery for the poor—are going to encounter a far greater form of misery than they can ever imagine. Those who exploit the poor will indeed face the full wrath of God on the day of judgment. Here again, we see how Christianity completely overturns the status quo of human sinfulness. Those believers who may be poor by human estimation are exceedingly rich in the kingdom of God. But those who have fame, wealth, and power in this life and who reject Christ will have nothing in the next.

The rich trust in their riches. They often see themselves as immune to suffering, yet they see no problem with exploiting the poor to maintain their own wealth. And so, in verses 2-3, James reminds them of the folly of this attitude. Says James, “your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.” Despite the Marxist ideology of liberation theologians, James is not condemning wealth itself, but the folly of trusting in wealth that has been gained by exploiting others. As Calvin so wisely puts it, “God has not appointed gold for rust, nor garments for moths; but on the contrary, he has designed them as aids and helps to human life.”[3]

Wealth Is Not the “Be All” in Life

The problem is not with wealth itself. Wealth is a gift from God given to some. The problem James is addressing is that sinful men and women often allow wealth and riches to become the be-all and end-all of life. What such people forget is that riches will not last. Material possessions rot and decay. The finest clothes are eventually consumed by moths. Even precious metals eventually rust and tarnish. James’s warning here echoes the words of Jesus elsewhere. As Jesus Himself warns us in Matthew 6:19-21, “do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Those who trust in their wealth—rather than the grace and mercy of God—will have their arrogance and unbelief exposed for all to see on the day of judgment. As Jesus points out, the rich who were exploiting the poor have allowed their trust and affections to be tied to their possessions, all the while their hearts have wandered far from the purposes and will of God. Therefore, James reminds the wealthy who were persecuting Christians that even as their clothes are eaten by moths, and even as their precious metals rust away, that very same corrosion which exposes their folly will be used as evidence against them. This warning certainly implies the idea of a final judgment, when all that they have accumulated serves as evidence of their sinful arrogance.

In a very loud echo of Ezekiel 7:19, James warns the wealthy that they will be consumed by fire: “They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing. Their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it. For it was the stumbling block of their iniquity.” This is the fate of those whose wealth—which is a great blessing from the Lord—blinds them to that which truly lasts and is of infinite value: the favor of God in Christ. Instead of seeing wealth as a blessing and something that can be used to help others in need, James exposes the sin that provokes God’s judgment: “You have laid up treasure in the last days.”

Earthly Wealth Is Fleeting

It is important that we do not miss the great irony in all of this. The wealthy, those who are being condemned by James, are those people who hoard their possessions precisely because they trust in those possessions instead of trusting in the purposes of God. But the wealth they hoard will eventually rot away and corrode. Instead of storing up wealth, they are actually storing up God’s wrath, because a day of final judgment is coming. But this is the very thing the wealthy cannot see, because they trust in their wealth to save them from whatever may come to pass. As James indicates later on in the passage, he clearly believes that he is living in the last days—that the Lord might return at any moment—and in this lies the folly of hoarding personal wealth. Their wealth will be of no value to them whatsoever on the day of judgment, and the wealth God gave them will actually testify against them. James has already warned us that life is short and that our failure to submit our plans to the will of God is but testimony of our arrogance. So here too James reminds us of the folly of that all-too-common sentiment expressed in the popular bumper sticker, “He who dies with the most toys wins.”

In verse 4, James moves from the general attitude of the rich toward the purposes of God to the specifics of their sins against the poor. “Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.” From this text, it is clear that James is indeed addressing the issue of migrant workers and the landowners who have exploited them. Again, James’s words virtually echo the accusations that Israel’s prophets made against those doing the same thing. In Malachi 3:5, we read YHWH’s accusation against Israel:

Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts. It is important to notice that the exploitation of the poor is equated with sins tied to the occult, adultery, and lying.

The Treatment of the Poor Matters

Furthermore, this kind of treatment of the poor was explicitly condemned in the law of Moses. In Deuteronomy 24:15, YHWH commands His people, “You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to the Lord, and you be guilty of sin.” So here in James 5, the brother of our Lord is warning those who have exploited the poor that the cries of the poor have reached YHWH’s ears. The implication is that YHWH knows the plight of His people and will quickly act on their behalf. This is both a warning to those who owe the poor their just wages and a word of consolation to the poor, who need to know that their cause is a righteous one and that God Himself is their defender.

In verse 5, James gives us yet another reason why God’s judgment is coming against the rich. “You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.” James never says that God condemns wealth—God is the giver of wealth. What is condemned is wasteful “self-indulgence,” i.e., the use of wealth for sinful pleasure and comfort when that same wealth was acquired through exploiting the back-breaking labor of migrant workers and refugees who were cheated out of their wages. While the wealthy hoard their gold, silver, and fine clothes, they fail to see that they are only adding to the evidence of their guilt.

The biblical metaphor of fattening an animal before it is slaughtered applies to those who foolishly hoard their wealth while exploiting the poor. James’s point is that there is going to come a great reversal of fortune. The poor who have nothing in this life will be rewarded with all the riches and treasures of heaven. But the rich who have exploited them will fall under the hand of God’s judgment, and their wealth will be introduced into the heavenly court as evidence of their sin. In fact, James speaks of the actions of the rich against God’s people as being as grave as though they had actually slaughtered them. Hence the strong language of verse 6: “You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.” To withhold wages from the poor—especially in the case of those who are being persecuted and suffer such economic hardship because of their profession of faith in Christ—is as serious an offense as if the wealthy had taken their lives. The righteous who have fled into rural Palestine to escape persecution are helpless against those who now exploit them. But those who exploit God’s people are helpless against God, who will indeed come to their defense.

Be Patient—the Lord Is the Final Judge

The notion that a day of final judgment is coming now opens the door for James to offer words of encouragement to his readers in verses 7-8. “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” This, too, is language taken from the Old Testament. In this case, James’s words echo Deuteronomy 11:8-17. In light of God’s promise of a final judgment, Christians must be patient for that day and persevere until it comes. Farm laborers know something about patience. They must sow the seed, water the fields, weed, and then cultivate the crops before the harvest finally comes in months later. Although his readers have been exploited and treated unjustly, James does not tell them to revolt or to take matters into their own hands. No, James instructs God’s people to be patient. The final judgment (the harvest) may not come today or tomorrow, but it will come!

In light of this, James exhorts the suffering faithful, “do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.” James has already warned us about the destructive power of our speech. In light of the difficult circumstances facing these struggling Christians—caused by those outside the church—it would be very easy to vent that righteous anger upon their brothers and sisters in Christ (as some in the churches were doing). This would be an ever-present temptation. As it is certain that those exploiting the poor will get theirs in the judgment, so too it would be a tragedy for Christians to allow their frustration to cause them to judge others and then come under judgment themselves. So James now reminds these persecuted people that Jesus, the Judge, is soon to return. The implication of his words is that the Christian should trust in the Lord to right all wrongs, even those going on within the church. We should not judge others because we are not the Judge.

The Lord Is Compassionate and Merciful

James ends this section with a reminder of what Israel’s own prophets were forced to endure. “As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” James’s best source of hope for the suffering saint is to point them to the faithfulness of God—how God is always faithful to His people when He calls them to suffer. God is always compassionate and merciful, and this is the reason why those now suffering should be steadfast and not just give up.

In light of this wonderful promise of God’s compassion, James exhorts his readers not to speak and act rashly, and to continue to watch their words carefully. “But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your ‘yes’ be yes and your ‘no’ be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.” The patient person should not swear oaths or take vows. It is enough for their “yes” to be “yes” and their “no” to be “no.” We will return to this exhortation next time when we conclude our series on James and go through verses 13-20.

What Is the Takeaway for Us?

James is setting forth an application of the blessing/curse principle found throughout the Scriptures. God will indeed bless His people, and He will curse those who persecute them. James does not condemn wealth, but he does expose the folly of trusting in wealth and the great sin of acquiring wealth through the exploitation of others—in this case, the cruel treatment given to Christian refugees who were forced to flee into the countryside to avoid being persecuted because of their faith in Christ.

James reminds us that God is the defender of the poor, as well as the giver of wealth. He also speaks a powerful word of woe to those who think what they’ve acquired in this life will do them one bit of good in the next. In this, James echoes the teaching of Jesus, who warned us of the folly of storing up treasure on earth when we should be seeking that heavenly treasure which is found only in Christ.

Despite the word of woe to the unbelieving rich, the good news for all of us—whether we are rich, poor, or middle class—is that in Christ, we are given unspeakable wealth, a wealth that does not rot. The robe of Christ’s perfect righteousness cannot be eaten by moths, nor will the golden streets of heaven ever see tarnish. We need never fear having the true wealth Jesus gives us taken away from us, because it cannot perish. It is a wealth earned not by the sweat of exploited laborers, but through the bloody sweat of the Son of God, who perfectly obeyed the commandments of God and who voluntarily suffered the wrath of God for us and in our place. It is a wealth which justifies us before God and allows us to live in His very presence forever.

And even though the Judge (our blessed Savior Jesus) is at the door, until the coming of the Lord, let us be patient, for the harvest will soon be ready. And while we wait, let us never forget that our blessed Lord is compassionate and merciful, and is even now preparing for us a treasure that we can scarcely imagine!

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[1] Moo, The Letter of James, 210.

[2] Moo, The Epistle of James, 210.

[3] Cited in Moo, The Epistle of James, 214.

Article 9: The Assurance of This Preservation

Concerning this preservation of those chosen to salvation and concerning the perseverance of true believers in faith, believers themselves can and do become assured in accordance with the measure of their faith, by which they firmly believe that they are and always will remain true and living members of the church, and that they have the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

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Articles 4–8 of the Canons, which deal with perseverance and preservation, address the very real problem of indwelling sin and the temptation that all believers inevitably face. In Articles 9–13, the focus shifts to the believer’s confidence regarding the assurance (or certainty) of salvation. Yes, Christians need to be wary of a “fifth column” deep within: indwelling sin. We also must be careful to faithfully partake of the means of grace (the preaching of the Word and regular participation in the sacraments), since these are the basis of our spiritual strength and sustenance. As the Canons have emphasized, Christians are to flee from those things which we know can draw us away from Christ.

Despite the very real inner war against the flesh and the reality of our sinful nature, we need not live in fear that God will give up on us and cast us aside when we fall into sin or if we despair of our final salvation. True believers in Jesus Christ will persevere to the end of their lives in faith, because Christ preserves us in faith through his present intercessory work on behalf of all those chosen by the Father (the elect). This point is plain from 1 John 2:1–2, where Jesus is said to intercede on behalf of those for whom he has died: “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” The source of our assurance, then, is Christ’s present work on our behalf in his offices of prophet, priest, and king. His intercession for us will cannot fail.

The Roman Catholic Church holds that the Reformed doctrine of assurance leads to the sin of “presumption”—i.e., the false sense that once justified, a believer can never fall away. This, it is claimed, inevitably leads to indifference toward our sin (The Council of Trent, Sixth Session, Article 9). Arminians, as we have seen, hold a similar view.

Based upon the numerous biblical passages previously considered, the Canons correctly affirm that “believers themselves can and do become assured in accordance with the measure of their faith, by which they firmly believe that they are and always will remain true and living members of the church, and that they have the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.” This assurance is grounded in the present work of Christ (as indicated above), and not upon the strength of one’s faith—since even weak faith justifies (e.g., Matthew 17:20; Mark 9:24).

The Reformed would later debate among themselves whether such assurance is of the “essence of faith” (meaning someone who exercises faith in Christ does so with the confidence that they are saved), or if assurance is a Christian virtue to be cultivated, recognizing that elect believers often can and do doubt their salvation even though assurance remains possible. The Canons, written in 1618–1619, do not address that specific question, as the debate arose later (cf. The Westminster Confession of Faith, 18:3). Rather, the Canons speak only of a measure of faith (weak or strong) and maintain that assurance is—or should be—the possession of all believers.

Paul speaks to the matter of such assurance at length in the so-called “prison epistles,” written while he was imprisoned in Rome: Philippians 3:8–21; Colossians 2:1–3; and Ephesians 1:13–23.

Episode Synopsis:

Season Five of the Blessed Hope Podcast is underway. I know that for many of you, the Book of Romans is your favorite letter in all the New Testament. When we wrapped up our time in 2 Corinthians a couple of months ago, the clock started on launching Season Five. I love Romans, I’ve preached through it twice using the lectio continua style of exposition, and I have lectured on parts of Romans on a number of other occasions. So I am very excited about season five, and I’ve worked very hard to get this verse by verse deep dive Bible study ready to go.

There can be little doubt that Paul’s letter to the church in Rome is one of the most important letters ever written. As we will discuss in this episode, the Epistle to the Romans has had a tremendous impact upon the course and history of Western Civilization, as well as a huge impact upon the people of God ever since it was written. For reasons we will address momentarily, the Book of Romans has a clarity and power about it which brings Reformation and renewal to Christ’s church whenever it is proclaimed from the pulpit and studied by the people of God.

We open Season Five with two episodes devoted to the importance and historical background of the epistle. In this first episode we’ll take a look at the ways in which this letter has impacted the world in which we live, and we’ll consider some of the key figures in church history and their testimonies about the influence which Romans has had upon them and their ministries. The influence of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome is truly remarkable.

That done, we’ll briefly look at some of the main themes of the letter. What ground does Paul seek to cover in this letter to a church in the very capital of a pagan empire? Why did the renewed interest in Romans some 500 years ago generate many of the controversies which led to the Protestant Reformation and the split from the Roman Catholic church? Why does Romans still generate controversies, such as those associated with the New Perspective on Paul? What about those doctrines long associated with confessional Reformed theology? Can we find them in Romans? So, in addition to the themes laid out by Paul in this letter, I’ll identify some of the main controversies we will address when we get into the meat of the letter. I’ll also explain my operating assumptions as we open a new season–why am I approaching this letter from an exegetical, theological, historical, and confessional perspective?

Show Notes:

I have been hard at work preparing a number of episodes as Season Five gets rolling, and I hope you are as eager to get started and dig in as I am.

This was an uneventful recording session. No airplanes or helicopters, no barking dogs, no leaf blowers or lawnmowers, and no trash truck. A clean recording makes editing much, much, easier.

Recommended Links:

Select Resources for the Study of Romans

Naselli: Why Romans Is the Greatest Letter Ever Written?

Rosner: What is the Purpose of Romans?

Jared Wilson: Why Study the Book of Romans?

Music:

(Shutterstock): Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op 92m, second movement, Allegretto (A minor)

You Think Antichrist Speculation Is Bad Now . . .

Antichrist speculation was rife at the end of the thirteenth century. A number of those influenced by the noted apocalyptic thinker Joachim of Fiore (b. 1135, d. 1202) expected the Lord to return by 1260. This was a date derived from a misreading of several texts in the Book of Revelation (cf. Revelation 11:2-3; 12:6). When this did not happen as hoped for, those left behind were forced to explain why the Lord had not come back. In previous posts, I considered antichrist speculations of two prominent Franciscan theologians, Gerhoh of Reichersberg, and Adso of Montier-en-Der, who had much to say about an imminent appearance of the Antichrist in the tenth (Adso) and eleventh centuries (Gerhoh). If our own age is dogged by end-times speculation, we have nothing on the medievals when it comes to attempting to identify the Antichrist.

Throughout the thirteenth century, the Roman Church was thoroughly corrupt and made little effort to hide it or do anything about it. A large and influential “reformist movement” (including many Franciscans) lamented the sad state of the church and sought its reform. Some even speculated that a future, evil pope, might even be the Antichrist.

But there were other factors driving the eschatological fervor of the period. One was the influence which Joachim had upon much of the church’s eschatology–although Aquinas and Bonaventure resisted much of this speculation. Famous for his understanding of history unfolding in three stages, Joachim taught that the final stage was to be the age of the “Spirit” which had not yet dawned. The anticipation of a truly “spiritual” age encouraged all sorts of wild speculation about when this age would begin, what things would be like when it did, and what events would occur before it does.

A second factor was that in addition to the corruption running throughout the Roman Church’s hierarchy, the first crusade began in 1096. The collective goal of successive crusades was to recapture the holy sites in Jerusalem. The crusades found some initial success—taking Jerusalem—but the holy city was later retaken by the “Saracens” (Muslims). This raised all sorts of troubling questions about why the Lord had allowed such a calamity to occur after what had been proclaimed as a great victory for the crusaders. Was God going to punish his disobedient church by sending an Antichrist?

Third, the crusades played out against the backdrop of the schism between the Roman and Greek Churches in 1054 (known today as the East-West Schism). The Greeks (now known as the Eastern Orthodox) would not submit to the authority of the pope and were considered heretical by Rome on several key points, including the filioque clause in the creed, the use of leavened bread in the sacrament, and differences in the liturgy. During the crusades, soldiers and armed thugs supporting Rome, made their way East to liberate the “holy land.” The crusaders at one point invaded and conquered but eventually lost Constantinople, the heart of the Greek Church and Byzantine Empire. But all of this progress followed by repeated setbacks, and given the intense hostility and warfare within Christendom, this generated much speculation among the followers of Joachim as to whether the Greek Church might be the seat of the Antichrist, or whether a reunion of the two churches would be a harbinger of the end.

Fourth, geopolitical events were a major source of anxiety. The Tartars, a Turkic people allied with the Mongol Empire, invaded Islamic regions, and even captured Jerusalem from the Muslims for a time. They also pressed deep into Eastern Europe causing fear and terror in Rome in the wake of their advance. If any people were thought to be capable of producing an Antichrist it was the Tartars. Yet another threat to the Roman Church was Frederick II, the Holy Roman Emperor, who organized a fifth crusade, which failed horribly in Egypt, and who was eventually excommunicated and considered by many to be the Antichrist.

Then, as now, identifying the Antichrist was an ongoing enterprise with a large cast of possibilities.

Enter Roger Bacon and the Coming “Angelic Pope”

A noted Franciscan theologian, the Englishman Roger Bacon (1219-1292), attempted to tamp down the Joachite speculations once the date of 1260 had come and gone without the coming of the Antichrist, the Lord’s return, or the dawn of Joachim’s third age—that of the Holy Spirit. Bacon was a highly respected polymath, known as Doctor Mirabilis. He was an accomplished philosopher, scientist, and theologian. In the midst of such prophetic speculation and uncertainty, Bacon sought to change the discussion by raising a new sort of eschatological hope, that of an “Angelic Pope.” This holy pope would appear and successfully deal with the corruption in the church (the lawyers and lawsuits mentioned below), he would unite the Greek Church with the Roman (ending the East-West schism), he will convert the Tartars and the Jews, and then defeat the dreaded Saracens. Bacon hoped this pope would enable Christians to prepare for an Antichrist in addition to his prediction of an eventual end of Islam after 693 years (based upon calculations using the Arabic calendar).

Like Adso and Gerhoh before him, Bacon composed a treatise on the matter in 1267, and sent it to the then current Pope, Clement IV. Here is an excerpt from Bacon’s treatise . . .

O most holy Father and wisest Lord, may your glory deign to consider that you alone are able to bring the cure since there never has been, nor will be, I believe, a pope who knew the law as truly as you do. Even though some men knew the law well, there is no hope that they will become pope. Forty years ago it was prophesied, and there have been many visions to the same effect, that there will be a pope in these times who will purify Canon Law and the Church of God from the sophistries and deceits of the jurists so that justice will reign over all without the rumbling of lawsuits. Because of the goodness, truth, justice of this pope the Greeks will return to the obedience of the Roman Church, the greater part of the Tartars will be converted to the faith, and the Saracens will be destroyed. There will be one flock and one shepherd heard (John 10:16). One who saw these marvels in his own time. Certainly, if God and the pope so wished, they could happen within the space of a single year, or even in less time. This could happen in your reign.[1]

Bacon’s eschatological expectation centers around the perfection and expansion of the Roman Catholic church, a sort of papal millennial “golden age” through the appearance of a “holy,” “wonderous,” “most blessed,” pope who will clean up the church and bring the nations into the fold of the Roman Church. This pope will be assisted in this effort by a “greatest prince,” who would use the sword to assist the holy pontif to “work together for the renewal and expansion of Christendom.”[2] Bacon wasn’t at all shy about advocating a union between pope and prince—uniting spiritual and military power under the pope’s direction to achieve the aformentioned goals.

But notice what, or better, who is missing. Nothing is said about Christ’s return as the center of a Christian’s future hope, only the expectation of a “holy” pope, who has not yet made his appearance some 750 years after Bacon’s prediction.

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[1] Translated from J. S. Brewer, Fr. Roger Bacon Opera Quaedum Hactenus Inedita (RS 15 page 86), and taken from Bernard McGinn, Visions of the End: Apocalyptic Traditions in the Middle Ages (New York: Columbia University Press, 1998), 190.

[2] Brett Edward Whalen, Dominion of God: Christendom and Apocalypse in the Middle Ages (Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 2009), 192-193.

The Guilt of Sin and the Joy of Being Counted Righteous

There is nothing worse than to feel the conviction of sin–that miserable sense that you’ve done something wrong and your actions displease God because they violate his commandments. The Psalmist describes this feeling as akin to the oppressive heat of a hot and sweltering summer day. On the other hand, there is nothing better than to know the forgiveness of sin–the sense that the guilt of our wrong-doing has been forgiven, and that we are now considered righteous, as though we had never broken a single one of God’s commandments. The Psalmist describes this sense as a safe hiding place in times of trouble.

This then, is the theme of the 32nd Psalm–where and how to find true happiness and peace stemming from the knowledge that our sins have been forgiven, and that we are counted as righteous before God. When someone once asked Martin Luther which of the Psalms he liked best–he said the Psalms of Paul (the 32nd, the 51st, the 130th, the 146th) because they teach that the full forgiveness of sins comes without works to all who believe.[1] John Calvin says that in this Psalm we are reminded, “what a miserable thing it is to feel God’s hand heavy on account of sin,” but that “the highest and best part of a happy life consists in this, that God forgives a man’s guilt, and receives him graciously into his favor.”[2] Indeed, blessed is the one whose sins are covered.

A Penitential Psalm

The 32nd Psalm is quoted by the Apostle Paul in Romans 4 as an important proof-text for the doctrine of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone. This Psalm is often considered a “penitential Psalm”– the prayer of someone deeply affected by the guilt of their sins. It is also the second of seven so-called penitential Psalms in the Psalter, and the second such Psalm to appear in Book One of the Psalter. But this Psalm is much more than a penitential Psalm. It includes thanksgiving on the part of David–the Psalm’s author–as well as an appeal to divine wisdom which is revealed by YHWH. The Psalmist gives thanks for this wisdom, which he has received through the “instruction,” “teaching,” and “counsel” mentioned in verse 8. Having gained this wisdom from God, the Psalmist is moved to confess his sins and gives thanks to YHWH for this wonderful blessing. Made wise by God’s wisdom, the Psalmist describes the contrast between the misery of the conviction of sin and the joy (indeed, the happiness) of knowing that he is forgiven.[3] The Psalmist can describe this sense so well because he has lived it.

The Structure of Psalm 32

In verses 1-2, the blessing under consideration is described against the backdrop of the conviction of sin and the desire to seek forgiveness in verses 3-5. This, in turn, leads the Psalmist to find refuge in the Lord (verses 6-7), where he is given instruction (verses 8-10). The Psalm concludes with a call for God’s people to rejoice in the Lord who has heard their confession of sin, and then graciously granted them the blessedness of knowing that the guilt of their sin has been taken away, that they are “covered,” and that YHWH remembers their sin no more.

The 32nd Psalm has a chiastic structure–a common Hebrew literary device in which the various premises of a sustained argument simultaneously work back from the beginning and the end of a biblical passage, toward the center, in which we find the conclusion (or main point)–which, in this case, is the promise of God’s wisdom in verse 8. The conviction of sin and the assurance of forgiveness are things rightly understood only when one seeks the wisdom of God. The person who seeks this wisdom learns that their own sin is not some minor or incidental thing, and that the forgiveness they presently enjoy comes only because God provides for that forgiveness through a sacrifice which he institutes and which is acceptable to him.[4]

Our Sins Are Ultimately Sins Against God

To put it another way, when we see things from God’s perspective as revealed in his word (i.e., in the light of God’s wisdom) we know that our sins are ultimately sins against the holy God, and that the forgiveness we now enjoy has been purchased for us by the doing and dying of Jesus Christ upon the cross, for us, and in our place. Through the lens of Scripture we see things from God’s perspective (true wisdom)–our sin is a violation of God’s holy law as well as an affront to his holiness. Forgiveness is costly and requires the shedding of the Savior’s blood. Apart from Scripture (and the wisdom of God), sin is no big deal, and forgiveness comes by merely saying we are sorry.

The 32nd Psalm is the first of a series of Psalms (33-41) which speaks of the blessedness of the knowledge of forgiven sin. Both Psalm 33 and 34 speak of the joy of those who know that YHWH is Lord, and who know that God is their refuge. These Psalms encourage YHWH’s people to trust in the Lord, to seek his divine protection, and to know that God’s love surrounds them even in times of trouble. So then, the 32nd Psalm stands at the head of a brief series of Psalms which extol the wisdom of the Lord, while at the same time, this Psalm speaks of sorrow for sin and the joy which comes when we confess our sins to the Lord who then forgives us.

Blessed Are. . .

With this bit of background in mind let us dig into the text of the 32nd Psalm. The Psalm opens in verses 1-2 with the two-fold repetition of a blessing enjoyed by the people of God. “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” The word “blessed” (’ašerê) can just as easily be translated “happy.”[5] “Happy” is the person who knows that their sins are forgiven, who knows their sin is covered, and against whom the Lord does not count the guilt of their sins. The person is happy because their sins have been removed and hidden from sight. The willingness to confess one’s sins is reflected by the fact that they have no desire to hide things from God (deceit)–as if we could hide things from God. Nothing is more futile and self-defeating than to act as though God does not know what we think, what we feel, or what we have done.

The word translated as “transgression” refers to an act of rebellion. Is not all sin rooted in human rebellion? The word “iniquity” comes from a root meaning to be “crooked,” and refers to the intention to do wrong. “Sin” is something that misses the mark, by falling short of what is expected of us, like an arrow not reaching the target. By repeating three times the nature of human sin, the Psalmist is striving to remind us of the gravity of our sins because our sins render us guilty before God, it offends his holiness, and we must realize that our sin is self-destructive and damages others. We cannot begin to appreciate what God has done for us in Jesus Christ, until we understand what Adam has done to our race by rebelling against God and plunging the human race into sin and death.

If it is vital that we understand the gravity of our sins, it is more important that we understand the blessedness (happiness) of knowing that our sins have been forgiven–that we live and die in the assurance of God’s favor. As the Psalmist used three words for sin, so too he uses three words for forgiveness. The word translated “forgiven” refers to the act of carrying away (“removing”) the guilt of sin, and even the remembrance of it. The Psalmist also speaks of our sins as “covered.” This refers to the satisfaction of God’s wrath so that our sin is no longer a ground (or basis) of God’s anger toward us. Third, our sins–once satisfaction has been made–no longer count against us.[6] It were as though we had never committed them–even though the consequences of our sin may remain.

Paul Appeals to This Psalm in Romans 4

In Paul’s letters (in the New Testament) the apostle often makes a theological point, but follows it up with an example from the Old Testament to clarify his point, as well as to prove to his Jewish readers that the apostle is not making his “gospel” up as he goes along. Paul preaches Christ, but the same Christ Paul preaches is hidden in the types and shadows of the Old Testament. Paul does this in Romans 4:5-8, making the theological point in verse 5, that “the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.” God justifies, or counts as righteous, wicked people who trust in Jesus. To prove his point, Paul cites directly from this Psalm in verses 6-8 of Romans 4. David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: `Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.’” Paul’s point is that there is one gospel, found in both the Old and New Testaments.

A “Tranquilized” Conscience

The Psalmist speaks of things God’s people know and understand. We have all transgressed, sinned, and are filled with iniquities. But God forgives, covers, and no longer counts our sins against us. In light of this three-fold repetition of our sin, and the three-fold repetition of what God does so as to forgive us, John Calvin points out, “the two reasons for which the Psalmist insists so much on the subject of the forgiveness of sins are these—that he may, on the one hand, raise up those who are fallen asleep, inspire the careless with thoughtfulness, and quicken the dull; and that he may, on the other hand, tranquilize fearful and anxious minds with an assured and steady confidence.” The thought of remaining in our sins apart from Christ should absolutely terrify us. God intended his commandments (the law) to do this very thing–convict us of our sin. Although we don’t often think of the forgiveness of sins in terms of tranquilizing fearful and anxious minds, that is a great way to put what the gospel does. If we know that our sins are forgiven, then our consciences are quieted, and we can live and die in the light of God’s favor, and live and die without fear of God’s wrath.

In verses 3-5, the Psalmist describes the blessedness of the forgiveness of sins in light of the miserable condition we are in before we confess them. The Psalmist writes from personal experience–and we can all relate to the misery he describes. “For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.” The Psalmist knows first-hand the misery of unconfessed sin. We’ve all seen people who are “skin and bones” and have a gaunt look, lifeless eyes, and the pallor of sickness. Such people seem spent, they are weak in body, suffer from various maladies, and often have no joy or sense of purpose. David speaks of unconfessed sin as creating a similar condition. Unconfessed sin robs us of our vitality, we feel as though we were wasting away.

The Misery of Unconfessed Sin

David also speaks of groaning all day long—likely inwardly, but not necessarily in silence. Day and night he describes the sense that God’s hand was heavy upon him, never relenting, never easing up, granting David no peace or relief. Like someone whose strength and energy departs from them on a hot, muggy, summer’s day, so too the person with unconfessed sin plods along without relief, with little joy, and every task, even the small ones, seem like an ordeal. Nothing seems right. Nothing works out as it should. Everything feels more difficult and tedious than it really is. This is what unconfessed sin, the corresponding guilt, and the sense that we are under God’s judgment and displeasure does to us. No relief will come until David confesses his sins and pours out his soul unto his Creator-Redeemer.

The Relief of Confession

But in verse 5, David does exactly that. He acknowledges and confesses his sins to YHWH. The same three words for sin he used in verses 1-2 he uses again, only now in a different order. The words he used for forgiveness are replaced by three verbs related to the confession of his sins. First, David acknowledges his sin. He takes full and personal responsibility for them and makes them known, although YHWH already knew them. Second, David does not cover them up. His sins are now exposed and he is naked before the Lord. Third, he confesses his sins to YHWH, who, the Psalmist says, forgave him. There is a basic and fundamental principle here. When we confess our sins, God forgives us.

Now forgiven, and aware of the blessedness of the assurance of God’s favor toward him, in verses 6-7 the Psalmist exhorts all of God’s people to do the same. “Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.” The sense here is that suffering the consequences of our actions is a form of discipline. We may feel YHWH’s absence from us, although he never abandons his people, even if he lets us feel like he has departed from us for a time. Or, we may feel the hot breath of his anger in the form of the conviction of sin and the sense of God’s displeasure with us. That too, is a form of chastisement, but not the total abandonment of the sinner to final judgment. A Christian who has not confessed their sins and stubbornly refuses to do so may feel just as the Psalmist describes–like our bones are wasting away, like God’s hand is heavy upon us, and as though our strength is sapped on a hot summer day.

While YHWH Is Near

Notice too that David’s exhortation to the people of God to confess our sins makes clear that although YHWH is always near to his people, there are special times when YHWH may “be found”–i.e., he gives us wisdom to figure out that not confessing our sins leads to the aching bones and summer lethargy described previously. This is why those who trust in Christ (the “godly’) should not delay in confessing their sins. This is also why we should realize that simply continuing on needlessly in the misery which comes from not confessing our sins is utter foolishness. The Psalmist’s words recall to mind the words of Isaiah 55:7-8. “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” When we seek the Lord, we will find him because he wants to be “found.” This is especially true when it comes to confession of our sins.

As the Psalmist points out, there are times when the consequences of our sins, or the effects of the sins of others, or even the mysterious providence of God, circumstances threaten to overwhelm us like a rush of mighty water, which in David’s age was a reference to a flash flood coming down one of the narrow desert valleys (wadi) brought on by a sudden rain. The rapidly rising flood waters will not reach those who pray to YHWH when he is “found” (i.e., when he reveals himself to us). YHWH is our hiding place. YHWH preserves us from trouble. YHWH’s faithfulness produces shouts of joy (deliverance) from his people.

Instruction from YHWH

In verse 8, we come to the main point of the Psalm (the middle of the chiasm). After realizing his sins, confessing them, receiving forgiveness, and then calling others to do the same, it is easy to overlook the fact that the speaker, the “I,” is no longer David, but YHWH. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” David quotes these words of YHWH, who now reveals himself as the source of all true wisdom. With the sense of YHWH’s heavy hand removed (the conviction of sin), YHWH graciously instructs his people, teaches his people, and shows us the way we should go. He give us true wisdom. YHWH will counsel us through his word, and metaphorically, he will keep his eye upon us (God doesn’t have eyes). God is ever vigilant in keeping watch over his people. We may sleep, not pay attention, or lose interest, but YHWH never sleeps.

God’s wisdom reminds us not to behave like brute beasts. David exhorts us in verse 9, “be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.” Animals have to be steered and guided to perform useful tasks. To get them to stay on the path you must stick a bridle in their mouths so as to keep them from going off the path. Those who seek and find God’s wisdom do not need bits and bridles. We now have understanding so as to stay on the right path and not wander off into danger.

The Secular Illusion

In verse 10, the Psalmist returns to the theme of misery found earlier in verses 6-7. David says “many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.” Those who confess their sins and experience the joy of forgiveness are completely unlike the wicked who ultimately know only sorrow. As Calvin spoke of the forgiveness promised in the gospel as the tranquilization of the conscience because of confidence in God’s promise of pardon, our contemporaries see things much differently. Some actually seek to tranquilize their guilty consciences with tranquilizers. Calvin used the metaphor in terms of someone becoming tranquil (or at peaceful rest) because their conscience was unburdened by sin. Other than alcohol, Calvin knew nothing of modern forms of avoiding a burdened conscience: self-medication, prescribed medication, constant activity, out and out denial of the voice in your head which tells you that all is not right with God. Many attempt to drown out the voice of conscience through the endless pursuit of pleasure, and the avoidance of the realities of life which characterize so much of our culture.

Calvin also knew nothing about the modern phenomena of secularization, wherein people can live their entire lives apart from any sense of God’s existence, without feeling even the slightest hint of conscience that they have sinned against either God or neighbor. The words of the 32nd Psalm ring hollow to people who have never stopped to think about God, that he created them, or that they owe him obedience and that they have sinned against him. Our modern world and all of its technological wonder has created the illusion that there is no God, so people think they have done nothing wrong so long as what they do doesn’t hurt others. In the minds of such secularism, the only thing which creates the sense of weary bones, a lack of strength and energy which the Psalmist connects to sin, is when their cell phone goes dead or their internet connection goes down.

But let calamity come, and the secular illusion will immediately vanish in the light of the reality of a sovereign creator-redeemer who has revealed himself in the person of Jesus Christ. With that reality will come the frightening realization that human misery is not that one’s electronic gadgets don’t work or that instant gratification and pleasure will be delayed, but that the one who created all things demands perfect obedience of us and that we have sinned against him. Then the true misery of which the Psalmist speaks will confront them, and the blessedness of which the Psalmist speaks (and which we so easily take for granted) will become the great desire and the goal of human existence. The only place where the misery of human sinfulness can be satisfied is to be within bounds of the steadfast love of God which comes through faith in Jesus Christ.

The Lament

We know this to be true because God has revealed his glories and perfections to all, and people can suppress the truth in unrighteousness for only so long. People can ignore the world, its creator, and their sin, until reality hits them in the face. As Paul tells us in Romans 2:14-15, “For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.” We can live as though there is no God and ignore what our conscience its telling us, but Francis Schaeffer was right when he said we cannot make our own world and then live in it. We live in the world God has made, and so our make-believe world will inevitably collide with his, and his world will win, because his is the world that is (reality).

The lament of Psalm 32, and the thanksgiving which arises from the knowledge that our sins are forgiven, may not mean much to the secularist, but to anyone who has been convicted of their sins by measuring themselves against God’s law, David’s words reveal the wisdom of God, the key to a life well-lived. The people of God are assured through God’s word that we are surrounded by the love of God which is revealed to us through the promises of the gospel. “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1John 4:10). When we consider the fact that God’s love for us is prior to our love for him, the exhortation David gives in verse 11 resonates with us at the deepest level of human existence. “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” What else can those who love God’s wisdom do, but rejoice in the blessing of the forgiveness of sin, which are our gracious God has bestowed upon us.

Blessed Is the One . . .

As we conclude, we turn again to Romans 4:1-8, where Paul explains how it is that we are to understand the 32nd Psalm in light of the coming of Jesus Christ and the good news of the Gospel. After discussing how Abraham was reckoned righteous before the Lord, through faith, and apart from works, in verses 4-5 Paul speaks of the way in which the forgiveness of sins comes about. “Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.” Those of us whose sins are forgiven are those who have given up trying to save ourselves by our own good works, and who instead look to Jesus Christ, believing that he will forgive us and reckon us righteous. Those who do this, Paul says, are the ungodly, who know our sins and our need of a Savior.

To illustrate what he means, Paul quotes verses 1-2 of the 32nd Psalm. “Just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: `Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.’” Our sins are forgiven, covered, and not counted against us when we trust in Jesus Christ. In fact, God reckons any one of us who believes in Jesus as righteous, and upright before the Lord, people who from a grateful heart seek God in times of trouble, who offer shouts and songs of deliverance, who are glad in the Lord, and rejoice. God justifies the ungodly, but he doesn’t leave us there. His specialty is turning the ungodly into the godly.

There is nothing worse than the conviction of sin, which is why people go to such great lengths to ignore the misery unconfessed sin brings upon us. There is nothing better than to hear the words of David as explained by the Apostle Paul, “blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” Blessed is the one against whom the Lord counts no iniquity. Indeed, blessed is the one.

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[1] Cited in Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol., 1, 86.

[2] John Calvin, and James Anderson. Commentary on the Book of Psalms (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010).

[3] VanGemeran, Psalms, Vol. 5., 310.

[4] VanGemeran, Psalms, Vol. 5., 310-311.

[5] Kidner, Psalms 1-7, 133.

[6] VanGemeran, Psalms, Vol. 5., 310-311.

[7] John Calvin, and James Anderson. Commentary on the Book of Psalms (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010).

This is taken from a 1915 article, the "Person of Christ" which was first published in The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, edited by James Orr. It is found in volume 4, pp. 2338-2348, and well-worth reading in its entirety. This essay has been reprinted in The Person and Work of Christ, ed John J. Hughes, published by P & R (2025), 37-74.

Warfield is describing the two natures of Christ as forth by Paul in Philippians 2:5-9. He calls attention to the fact that,

It should be carefully observed also that in making this great affirmation concerning Our Lord, Paul does not throw it distinctively into the past, as if he were describing a mode of being formerly Our Lord's, indeed, but no longer His because of the action by which He became our example of unselfishness. Our Lord, he says, "being," "'existing," "subsisting" "in the form of God" - as it is variously rendered. . . . Paul is not telling us here, then, what Our Lord was once, but rather what He already was, or, better, what in His intrinsic nature He is; he is not describing a past mode of existence of Our Lord, before the action he is adducing as an example took place - although the mode of existence he describes was Our Lord's mode of existence before this action . . . . He is telling us who and what He is who did these things for us, that we may appreciate how great the things He did for us are.

Warfield regards our Lord’s role as messianic servant as key to Paul’s point of application being made to the Philippians. According to the Princetonian, Christ’s divine nature is not “was” or “will be,” but “is.”

So far is Paul from intimating, therefore, that Our Lord laid aside His Deity in entering upon His life on earth, that he rather asserts that He retained His Deity throughout His life on earth, and in the whole course of His humiliation, up to death itself, was consciously ever exercising self-abnegation, living a life which did not by nature belong to Him, which stood in fact in direct contradiction to the life which was naturally His. It is this underlying implication which determines the whole choice of the language in which Our Lord's earthly life is described. It is because it is kept in mind that He still was "in the form of God," that is, that He still had in possession all that body of characterizing qualities by which God is made God, for example, that He is said to have been made, not man, but "in the likeness of man," to have been found, not man, but "in fashion as a man"; and that the wonder of His servanthood and obedience, the mark of servanthood, is thought of as so great. Though He was truly man, He was much more than man; and Paul would not have his readers imagine that He had become merely man. In other words, Paul does not teach that Our Lord was once God but had become instead man; he teaches that though He was God, He had become also man.

Warfield’s final point in this section of his article is that the Lord and creator of all, became a servant by assuming a true human nature in his incarnation.

Our Lord assumed, then, according to Paul, not the mere state or condition or outward appearance of a servant, but the reality; He became an actual "servant" in the world. . . . The Lord of the world became a servant in the world; He whose right it was to rule took obedience as His life-characteristic. . . . [Paul] is speaking of one who, though really man, possessing all that makes a man a man, is yet, at the same time, infinitely more than a man, no less than God Himself, in possession of all that makes God God. Christ Jesus is in his view, therefore (as in the view of his readers, for he is not instructing his readers here as to the nature of Christ's person, but reminding them of certain elements in it for the purposes of his exhortation), both God and man, God who has "assumed" man into personal union with Himself, and has in this His assumed manhood lived out a human life on earth.

Lord willing, Season Five of the Blessed Hope Podcast will kick off on May 25, 2026. I’ve been hard at work and am excited to get going.

I invite you to give Season Five a listen. If you plan to do so, you have a homework assignment! Please read through the Book of Romans a couple of times, and listen to it read aloud at least once as we get started. Both Martin Luther and John Calvin thought Romans deserves to be read regularly, and even memorized—sound advice!

To help you dig deeper as Season Five gets rolling, I have prepared a Romans Resource page with information about those resources which will aid you in studying this remarkable letter and its contents. Select Resources for the Study of Romans. Perhaps, this will whet your whistle for Season Five? Tell a friend!